Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips
by Harmony Sunsinger
Summary: She never meant to leave him for good, especially not after that argument. Now, in the modern era, Kagome has found her mate Inuyasha again - but can they mend their relationship so easily? Especially after he begins telling her of the geisha in WWII...
1. Like a Knife

A/N: So, right here, right now... A Harmony Sunsinger original! Yeah!

Full summary: Kagome finishes high school and enrolls in college just before the Shikon Jewel is completed and Naraku's defeated. The well closes, and she accidentally leaves Inuyasha and the others behind. But, just as she's beginning her freshman year as a history major at Tokyo University, she runs into (guess who!) Inuyasha Taisho, a music major and the guitarist and vocalist of one of the campus's varying rock bands. The two hit it off after several hundred years have passed for one and only months for the other, and they marry. Then, one day, when Inuyasha's off at practice, Kagome finds love letters written between Inuyasha and a woman during World War II. He begins telling her a love story that will change their trust, love, and relationship... forever.

I know, I know, the summary's a little shaky and complicated, but I want this to be something deep yet lighthearted, and DEFINITELY original. I want this to be something that shakes the ages, people. Something that revolutionizes the way we see "fanfiction."

P.S. The song in this chapter is "Like a Knife" by Secondhand Serenade, and the band was suggested to me by my sister, Erin Night.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter One: I'd Lose Myself.

Her brown eyes scanned the dark basement. She'd been invited to this party by Ayumi, who'd said there would be plenty of cool, cute college guys here who could make her forget Inuyasha with barely a glance. She'd scoffed at that, rolling her eyes and not caring if Ayumi noticed. 'Nobody could ever take Inuyasha's place in my heart,' she'd thought.

Yet here she was. She knew that she could never outrun this shame, but she came anyway.

She didn't understand why she was here, really. She would rather find herself sitting underneath the Goshinboku in the Sengoku Jidai, surrounded by Sango and Miroku and their children, Shippo sitting in her lap, Inuyasha perched high in the tree branches above them...

Her breath caught, and she thought briefly that it was lucky she was sitting down at a table with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. 'Inuyasha,' she thought, and her eyes glazed over as she zoned out once more. She let her thoughts linger on his shining silver hair, waving slightly in the gentle wind, his intense, passionate golden eyes. She remembered his smirk most clearly of all, though; that playful look had made her feel as though she would melt on more than one occasion.

Ayumi bumped her elbow gently. Kagome looked up finally, snapping herself out of her fastly deepening thoughts. A new band was setting up on the stage before them. "These are the guys I told you about, K'gome," Eri said, gesturing to the stage. "These guys are such great musicians, and their songs are so great they'll make you forget all about that two-timing Inuyasha in, like, two seconds."

'I'd like to see them try.'

"Yea," Yuka agreed. "They're all music majors - and they're all total hotties!"

"Shh!" Ayumi hushed them sharply, sending the two girls a harsh glance. "Be quiet, you guys! They're starting!"

One of the guys in the band came to the mic at the front of the stage. He had short, silver hair and eyes the color of molten copper. Kagome could barely make out that he wore a simple, red T-shirt - 'Ironic,' she thought as she sat there, stunned - blue jeans, and a pair of black and silver Luggs. The guitar strung around his neck and shoulder was a bright, neon blue, and it stood out against the bright red of his T-shirt.

Kagome held her breath as she watched him. His sharp nose, his pale skin, his pouty lips... He was the spitting image of Inuyasha.

And then he smirked. It was almost as though he were smirking directly at her. Kagome could almost HEAR her heart shattering.

"This is a song that reminds me of a time, long ago, when I lost that special someone," he said, opening the act.

'Oh, Kami,' she thought, her eyes tearing up. 'He even SOUNDS like him.'

"Well, I've lost a few someones, but, hey. Who's counting, right?" The boy who so closely resembled her Inuyasha shrugged, his smirk growing. There was scattered laughter in the crowd, some of it emanating from Kagome's friends.

"You and him might hit it right off, Kagome," Eri said, smiling. Her smile disappeared when she saw her friend's shocked expression. "K'gome? What's wrong?"

"Shh!" The three stared at her as she sharply hissed at them, "Be quiet!"

She never took her eyes off him as he began to strum, the mic close to his lips. He licked them once as the music hit the audience. The sounds his guitar made were light as they wafted their way across the air to Kagome, and she suddenly felt as though the lyrics she had yet to hear was meant for her.

His voice was sweet and sensual as he sang,

"I dream a lot,  
"I know you say  
"I've got to get away.  
"'The world is not your for the taking'  
"Is all you ever say.  
"I know I'm not the best for you  
"But promise that you'll stay.  
"Cause if I watch you go  
"You'll see me wasting, you'll see me wasting away.  
"Cause today..."

The rhythm picked up right then, and the drums built the suspense. The lookalike lead singer gained volume as he continued,

"You walked out of my life.  
"Cause today, your words felt like a knife.  
"I'm not living this life."

Time seemed to slow for one solitary moment as Kagome realized that she had gotten to her feet. She was staring intensely at the man standing before her on the stage, and it was as if she had never seen him before. Not like this anyway...

The strums slowed, as did the beat. There was no way the singer didn't see her now, but he went on,

"Goodbyes are meant for lonely people standing in the rain  
"And no matter where I go it's always pouring all the same.  
"These streets are filled with memories,  
"Both perfect and in pain..."

His golden eyes had already zeroed in on her. His expression was just as stunned as hers was; their surprise was perfectly mirrored in the other's eyes. His voice lowered, nearly to a whisper, and it was as if he was speaking directly to her:

"And all I wanna do is love you,  
"But I'm the only one to blame.

Once more, the beat picked up and the volume grew louder.

"Cause today, you walked out of my life.  
"Cause today, your words felt like a knife...  
"I'm not living this life."

Suddenly, the look in the singer's eyes changed. No longer was he shocked to see Kagome standing in his audience; no, he was downright pissed. The music didn't change, but his tone did as he sang,

"But what do I know, if you're leaving,  
"All you did was stop the bleeding.  
"But these scars will stay forever,  
"These scars will stay forever!  
"And these words they have no meaning  
"If we cannot find the feeling  
"That we held on to together.  
"Try your hardest to remember!"

His words and eyes pinned Kagome where she stood. 'Could it be?' she thought as the music stopped for a moment. The singer paused, still staring at her, and then he started again, his voice loud and shrill as he practically yelled at her,

"Stay with me...  
"Or watch me bleed...  
"I need you just to breathe...  
"Cause today..."

The music had started again - when did they start playing again? - and Kagome released the breath she'd been holding as she was flooded with an intense feeling of happiness. 'It's him,' she thought, her surprised expression transforming into a large, excited smile. 'Inuyasha made it.'

And then she remembered the last time she had spoken to him... She remembered her words, his words, the meaning behind them... To her, they had occurred only a couple of months ago.

To him, it must have been _centuries_.

"You walked out of my life.  
"Stay with me, or watch me bleed...  
"Cause today, your words felt like a knife.  
"I need you just to breathe...  
"I'm not living this life."

The music started to slow, and the violin whined in the back as the drums disappeared. Inuyasha stopped strumming his guitar, and he licked his lips again, staring Kagome down.

Suddenly, he jumped down off the stage, throwing his guitar on one of the tables. His stride was quick and angry, and he stormed up to the small, brown-eyed Miko standing beside the table in the back.

He grabbed her face and his mouth came crashing down on hers with such force it almost knocked her over. His arms wrapped nearly automatically around her waist, and she had only a moment to thank the Gods for muscle memory before she fell under the wave of passion that always accompanied Inuyasha's kiss.

"You have no idea what you've done to me, wench," he breathed into her mouth as he reclaimed his mate after hundreds and hundreds of years apart.

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A/N: So? Whaddaya think? Please review! I know this is a little confusing, and this won't be like my other stories. It won't exactly be about Inuyasha GETTING Kagome at the end; it'll be more about them starting off together and rebuilding their troubled relationship.

Coming soon:

Chapter Two: Kickboxing, the New Stress Release.


	2. Kickboxing: The New Stress Release

Yay! Yippee!

Seriously, you people need to see this new kiddo of mine. She's a little on the small side, but she's a darlin' one, yes she is! Ava Marie Sunsinger was born on February 21, 2009, at, like, 5 a.m. Yikes! I was out of it. Anyway, she's here, and my blood pressure is slowing down, and the doctors are saying that my blood sugar is coming back to normal levels already! Yay for me! So I got cleared to reopen the studio, and I can return to work on my tales! Yay!

Now, on to the good stuff:

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Two: Kickboxing, the New Stress Release.

The air surrounding the couple as they made their way up the stairs to Kagome's new apartment was a mixture of things. Unfortunately, happiness wasn't on the list. The mood was thick with anxiety and tension; on Inuyasha's part, there was anger. Coming from Kagome's end, there was sadness and a hint of fear.

As she slid the key into the lock just underneath the doorhandle, she expelled the deep breath she'd been holding during the entire long, silent drive back from the party. 'Okay,' she thought as he followed her into the dark apartment. 'This isn't so bad. He's not screaming at me... yet.' She snuck a glance at him; he was staring at her very intensely as he flicked the living room light on. His golden eyes caught the light magnificently; it made them seem as though they were illuminated.

"Where's the pup?" he questioned, sniffing around the apartment a little.

Kagome froze. 'Oh, God,' she thought. 'Here we go...'

When she didn't answer, Inuyasha stopped his search through the apartment. The only scent he had been able to find was Kagome's... and her scent definitely did not hint at her pregnancy. His breath caught and he licked his lips as it occurred to him that she probably aborted after she closed the well.

"I lost it."

He nodded as though he didn't completely believe her.

Her chocolate eyes lit up - but not out of excitement. She knew what he was thinking. "No, no! Inuyasha, I didn't get rid of it..." She took a deep breath; she HAD to. She'd been miserable over the loss of her unborn child for months. "I... I miscarried. I came back to let my mom know that we'd mated and were going to have a baby... And when I tried to return, the well had closed. I thought..." She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the familiar sensation building in the back of her throat. 'Not again,' she thought. 'I can't start crying AGAIN.'

Inuyasha stopped what he was doing. He could immediately sense her distress; he made his way over to her and put one hand on her shoulder. "You really did lose it, didn't you?"

She nodded before turning and falling into his surprised embrace. Inuyasha stood there, blinking, as he held her. Then he opened his arms, releasing her, and took a small, slow step back. Kagome stood there, in the middle of the living room, unsure of what just happened. 'He's so mad he won't hold me?' she wondered as a little bit of depression seeped into her. He wouldn't look at her.

"It wasn't my fault."

Inuyasha looked up from the floor finally. His lips parted slightly as he gasped in surprise; he had looked up to catch her brown eyes filling with unwanted tears. Her bottom lip was quivering slightly as she regarded him with what Inuyasha considered to be the worst look she could ever have given him at that very moment. His chest had always tightened dramatically at the sight of those tears, and this was definitely no exception. Kagome looked so hurt, so heartbroken... It must have torn her in two not being able to reach him through the well. 'And the stress must've cost her - us - the pup,' he thought as they stared at one another, lost in their own emotions.

He stepped forward, still staring straight into her big eyes. Kagome just watched him, and, as he brought up his arms to reach them around her small frame, the tears forming at the corner of her eyes rolled down her cheeks in two giant, wet globs.

That did it. Inuyasha immediately fell forward, gathering her suddenly sobbing figure into a rather tight bear-hug.

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The next day, Inuyasha was determined to help Kagome get through her grief. He knew that she was strong, but she wasn't capable of surviving the loss of a baby by herself, no matter how capable he thought she was. And he felt like he had the perfect solution.

He'd stayed the night with her in her apartment, but as soon as dawn broke, he was up and about as usual; five hundred years weren't about to change that. As she remained in bed, sleeping through the tumultuous feelings that had been stirred up the night before, he ran to his own on-campus apartment to grab a few essentials. Of course, Inuyasha wasn't looking for his shampoo or deodorant; no, he had something else in mind, something that would help his mate work through her wide variety of unstable emotions.

And that, to him, was essential.

He grabbed a pair of grey sweats, an old, ragged T-shirt, and a pack of athletic tape. On his way back, he stopped at the local sporting goods store and picked up a pink and white kickboxing helmet. When he walked back in the front door of his mate's apartment, she was just coming out of the bedroom, wide-eyed and panicking. She sighed in relief when she saw him walking through the living room, and he dropped his bag on the couch, dashing to her side in case she began to swoon again. "I - I thought..." Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face into his chest, unable to finish her sentence.

Inuyasha sighed and held her for a moment, letting her work it out. When she was all right again, he released her from the close embrace, letting her stand on her own feet. Then she saw the bag.

"What's that?" she asked, a little puzzled. "Is it an overnight bag?"

The hanyou just grinned at her, his amber eyes sparkling. "I guess you could say that," he answered. He stepped away from her slowly, making sure she was really okay before practically leaping to the sofa and unzipping the bag. He took out the contents, setting the athletic tape and the helmet down on the small, dark brown coffeetable. Clutching the clothing against his chest with his left arm, he made a mad dash for the bathroom down the hall, giving Kagome a quick peck on the lips as he passed her. "Put on something old and comfy!" he called to her as he changed. "I've got a surprise for you!"

She blinked twice before shaking her head and smiling slightly in amusement. "What kind of surprise?" she asked in a normal volume as she made her way to the dresser in her bedroom. Yanking open the bottom and top drawers, she found what she was looking for - a seafoam green tank top and a pair of white lycra capris. She hurriedly began to change.

Inuyasha grinned as he pulled his T-shirt up over his head. He could hear the rustling that accompanied her undressing, and he had to bite down on his fist to keep from crying out when he felt his erection pushing against the fabric of his sweats. "Go down," he murmured in a hushed voice, knowing that Kagome wouldn't be able to hear him if he kept quiet. "Please, for Kami's sake, GO DOWN." After a few moments of desperate pleading, it began to sink in that his erection wouldn't be going away anytime soon. 'Dammit, this is NOT the time,' he thought as he heard Kagome finish changing and start down the hall, probably to check on him. 'Sex isn't what Kagome needs right now - though obviously it's what I need.' He rolled his eyes and pulled his stiff cock up so it rested between his tight stomach and the waistband of his sweats. "The kind that's a surprise," he replied loudly, making sure she could hear. He wasn't completely sure how he'd managed to keep his tone sounding playful, but by God he'd done it. That was all that mattered.

Standing outside the door, Kagome was grinning as she rolled her eyes. "I figured that it was a surprise," she called back to him through the door, crossing her arms over her breasts and leaning against it. She jumped away, though, when she heard the loud snap of the lock being undone. He opened the door to find her staring at him, her milk chocolate eyes wide. She quickly looked away, and his smirk returned when he noticed the slight blush settle across her cheeks and nose once again. 'Gods, how I missed that,' he thought as he strode past her, returning to the living room.

Once there, he opened the pack of athletic tape and began to roll it around his right hand. Kagome watched him, curious, from the doorway. "What are you thinking?" she asked her superhuman mate. Inuyasha merely shot her a mischievous glance and continued wrapping his hands, starting on the left one this time. Once he was finished, he picked up the helmet and tossed it to her. He wasn't very surprised when she managed to catch it with ease.

"Put that on," he told her, his tone becoming rather stern. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Now Kagome was really confused. "What are we doing?" she asked him. When he didn't answer her - sigh, AGAIN - she started to become a little angry. "Inuyasha," she said a little loudly, raising her voice to emphasize her frustration. He shot her a look. "Yes, dear?" he asked innocently.

She groaned, rolling her eyes. Inuyasha grinned. He'd also missed getting such a rise from her. "Will you PLEASE tell me what exactly it is that we're about to do?" she practically pleaded.

He nodded, his grin softening into a smile. "We're gonna spar."

Kagome stared at him incredulously as his words sank in. "'Spar'?" she asked. "As in, what? Wrestling? Boxing? Swordfighting?"

He laughed at her, and if she hadn't already gotten so frustrated, she would definitely have been glad to just hear the loud, comforting sound after so long. "No, no, wench, nothing like that." It was strange to hear him call her that so casually, using the same tone he'd have used to say her name. "It's called kickboxing, and it's a great stress release."

Kagome nodded. She'd done some kickboxing in high school; it had been part of P.E. She didn't remember much, but she did remember one thing; those kickboxing lessons had saved her life on more than one occasion while fighting youkai in the Sengoku Jidai. Suddenly, as she thought of the Sengoku Jidai and Miroku, Sango, Kaede, and Shippo, she felt very small and strange. Kagome looked at Inuyasha as he walked forward with the athletic tape and proceeded to wrap her hands in it. She swallowed.

Inuyasha could smell a strange emotion coming off her; he didn't exactly recognize it. 'It's like a mix of things,' he thought as he continued covering her hands in the cotton athletic tape. 'It's like she's sad and happy at the same time.' He stopped for a second, looking up; he met her eyes with ease, and, for barely a moment, it was as if he drowned in those shining pools of brown.

And then Kagome looked away, clearing her throat; Inuyasha went back to wrapping her hands.

When he was finished, she pulled on her soft helmet before helping him move the wooden coffeetable to one side of the living room, and they each took their stance; Inuyasha was on one side, Kagome on the other. They faced each other and bowed in respect, as was the custom.

Kagome threw the first punch. Inuyasha wasn't exactly expecting it, but he managed to dodge the blow easily. With a quick, skilled kick to his ankles, though, she took him off his feet. He fell on his back, not totally aware of what had just happened. Inuyasha looked over at his mate, who just giggled quietly. "Wow," she said, "I didn't know I still had it."

He growled as his youkai blood attempted to surface; the urge to dominate Kagome flooded through him like fire right then. He curled up in a ball and quickly jumped right onto the balls of his feet, aiming a quick jab to Kagome's left cheek. The blow connected with her jaw, which was protected by the soft material of the helmet. Still, she didn't expect him to strike at her, and she twisted backward to try to keep out of his reach. Her palm grasped the carpet as she somersaulted backward, landing on her feet. He blinked, smirking in mild surprise; 'That's my girl,' he thought as she came toward him again.

She punched at him again, this one aimed for his nose; he grabbed her arm easily. She grunted in disapproval as she kicked his ankles, sending him flying on to his backside once more. He growled, frustrated that she was winning, and he couldn't stop his youkai from overpowering him this time. He launched himself back to his feet and grasped her hips in his large hands, shoving her roughly against the wall.

They crashed, together, beside the tv, and Inuyasha picked his mate up off her feet and turned, holding her against him. Kagome stared down at him, wide-eyed, as he got down on one knee and dropped her flat on her back. She cried out a little from the pain, but her cry quickly turned into a whimper as he attacked her lips with his own. He wanted her... He had to have her...

Not wanting to wait for her any longer, Inuyasha ripped her tank top from her body and threw it angrily across the room before slicing her sports bra in half with his index claw. Now that offending clothing was gone, the hanyou attacked his mate's breasts, firmly sucking the nipple of one while he pinched and rubbed the nipple of her other. She gasped and moaned beneath him, writhing a little as he sank down until his crotch was pressed to hers. Kagome's legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, pulling his closer as she arched her back, pushing her breast further into his hot mouth.

"Inuyasha!" she cried out as she felt his fingers attempting access into her dripping, hot pussy. They found their way past her wet folds quite easily, and his mouth moved from her breast up to her collarbone as he shifted between her slim legs, bringing himself into a better position. As he kissed her collar and neck and jawline, earning several sensual moans and cries from her, he focused on the feel of her soft core pressing against his fingers. He used his other hand to free himself from his own clothing, and he smirked slightly at the way Kagome whimpered from the loss of his fingers inside of her.

"Oh, Kagome," he murmured as his cock pressed its way into her. She clenched her jaw at the slight amount of pain she felt as Inuyasha tried to gain access to her core; then, just a moment later, her jaw went slack and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she felt him fill her for the first time in months. Her body cried out for him even more than her voice did, and Inuyasha was enticed more by her heavenly aroused scent.

He sped up his pace just as her moans did, and her volume grew as she reached her orgasm. She cried out his name, her voice loud and rough, and Inuyasha's primal inner beast threatened to tear him in two if he didn't mark her again.

As he came inside her for the first time in centuries, Inuyasha bit into Kagome's delicate collarbone, causing her to writhe underneath him, the pleasure she was experiencing from her own climax magnified by the sensation on her mark.

When he'd finished spilling his seed inside her, he rolled over onto his side, lying beside her on the living room floor. They both were panting heavily, and Inuyasha rolled over a little to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. "It wasn't your fault, you know," he told her in a small voice, looking her right in her chocolate eyes.

Still breathing hard, she stared deep into his golden eyes, her jaw still slack. "I'm still sorry," she replied in a light, breathy tone.

He smiled down at her, his eyes darting to her full, parted lips. "There's plenty of time for more pups," he said. Then his smile broke out into a full smirk. "Marry me, 'Gome."

She grinned up at him, rolling her eyes. "Yea, right."

He rolled completely over, sitting up on his knees and grabbing her small hand in his. "No, I'm serious. Marry me."

She stared at him, searching for a few moments. Then she bolted upright and threw her arms around his neck, crying out, "Yes!"

As Inuyasha hugged her close, his smirk faded into a very satisfied smile. He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose, soaking his senses in her sweet, flowery scent. He would have his family finally, after centuries of waiting. She was back.

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A/N: YAY! There we go! Sorry, it's been really hard to get back into the swing of things! This took FOREVER for me to get out and into Wordpad. I hate Wordpad with a passion; I'm about to go and splurge on a brand spankin' new laptop.

Coming Soon:

Chapter Three: You Belong to Us.


	3. You Belong to Us

A/N: Here it is, the long-awaited third chapter of "Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips"! It may be a little confusing, but you guys'll figure it out sooner or later; I have faith in you all.

Btw, I don't own Inuyasha OR Secondhand Serenade's lyrics. The song featured in THIS chapter is, "A Twist in My Story," by Secondhand Serenade.

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Three: You Belong to Us.

He watched her closely. The wind blew softly, and her deep, black curls fluttered around her small, athletic frame. She turned slightly, looking over her shoulder at him. Inuyasha loved the way her chocolate eyes sparkled when her pretty, pink lips curled into a pouty smile. She shifted somewhat in her seat, causing her hair to bounce more. Smiling to himself, he walked over to her and plopped down on the grass beside her. All the while, she kept her brown eyes trained on him.

She licked her lips before they parted, and she sang to him in a loud, melodious voice,

"Slow down,

"The world isn't watching us break down.

"It's safe to say we are alone now,

"We're alone now."

Inuyasha blinked, and they were back in the Sengoku Jidai. The pair were sitting high up in the Goshinboku, both their legs straddling the thick branch. His back was leaned against the worn, wide trunk, and Kagome was against his chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her torso.

"Not a whisper,

"The only noise is the receiver.

"I'm counting the seconds until you break the silence.

"So, please, just break this silence."

The hanyou gasped, blinking again, and they were in the middle of a huge battlefield in the feudal era. It was the final battle, and Kagome was busy defending herself and Shippo; Sango was off to their right, hacking at the waving tentacles with her katana, and Miroku was on their left, fighting with his staff and various sutras. They all watched him the entire time they were fighting, and as Kagome launched assault after assault of purifying arrows at Naraku, she kept singing,

"The whispers turn to shouting.

"The shouting turns to tears.

"Your tears turn into laughter,

"And it takes away our fears.

"So, you see,

"This world doesn't matter to me -"

Suddenly, they were back in Kagome's time, sitting side by side on her pink bed in her bedroom at the Sunset Shrine. He still wore his fire-rat, and the words came from him naturally as he sang on,

"I'll give up all I have just to breathe

"The same air as you

"Till the day that I die,

"I can't take my eyes off of you."

He stood and stepped away from her, turning back to watch her. She was smiling, and he felt as though he had just stepped out of the dark and into the light.

"I'm longing for words to

"Describe how I'm feeling.

"I'm feeling inspired,

"My world just flipped,

"turned upside down,

"And turned around. Say what's that sound?"

Kagome's smile suddenly brightened, and the room around them melted into Kaede's small hut, back in the Warring States era. Inuyasha was buried deep inside her, and they were both completely nude, the hanyou on top of the priestess. She writhed a little beneath him, and he thrusted gently, cherishing the tiny pinpricks all over his body as pleasure and intense happiness exploded in him.

He leaned down, still thrusting very gently, and sang softly in her ear,

"It's my heartbeat. This couldn't be better -

"My heartbeat -

"Is stronger than ever.

"I'm feeling so alive, I'm feeling so alive."

He ran the palm of his large, rough hand across her soft cheek, brushing away the joyous tears that were staining the pretty red flush of her exquisite face.

"The whispers turn to shouting,

"The shouting turns to tears.

"Your tears turn into laughter,

"And it takes away our fears.

"So, you see,

"This world doesn't matter to me.

"I'll give up all I have just to breathe

"The same air as you

"Till the day that I die -

"I can't take my eyes off of you."

Inuyasha closed his eyes, breathing in her sweet scent, and when he opened them, they were sitting side by side on the same tatami mat in Kaede's hut that they'd made love on. He was staring, shocked, at Kagome, his hand resting on her still tight tummy. Tears were shining in his beautiful mate's eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

"I'm finally waking up -

"A twist in my story…"

Inuyasha regarded Kagome with a look of understanding. He'd always wondered why the Gods had made him a hanyou, and now he felt as if he understood completely.

Only Kagome could love him just like he was.

The Kamis made him feel so much pain, so much rejection, so much loss… But then they'd turned right around and made Kagome…

Just for him. She was just for him.

"I'm finally waking up.

"A twist in… my story,

"It's time I open up,

"And let your love right through me.

"Cause that's what you get

"When you see your life through someone else's eyes.

"That's what you get. That's you get…"

Inuyasha blinked, and Kagome wasn't there anymore. He stood by the well, and he could see the hole in the side of it from when he'd come up on it earlier and hit it, frustrated that he couldn't get through anymore.

Kagome was gone.

He whimpered, "So, you see,

"This world doesn't matter to me.

"I'll give up all I have just to breathe

"The same air as you

"Till the day that I die.

"I can't take my eyes off of you."

All of a sudden, there was a loud ringing beside him, and everything faded to black. He opened his eyes and sat up, realizing that it was Kagome's alarm clock sitting on the darkly stained nightstand that had woken him. Grunting his appreciation to the alarm, he slowly reached over the empty side of the bed to shut off the annoying racket.

Inuyasha sighed and leaned back, pressing his head into the pillows and sheets and comforter that reeked of Kagome.

"Oh, hey!"

He bolted upright once again at the sound of her chipper voice. There was his little priestess, standing in the doorway in a pair of grey jogging pants and a bright yellow tank top. She was smiling brightly at him as she toweled off her wet, curling hair.

"I just got out of the shower, and I was gonna start breakfast," she told him, tossing the blue towel into the hamper beside the dresser. "What would you like?"

He smirked at her. "Ramen."

Her mouth dropped open in complete surprise, and she scrunched her nose, somewhat disgusted. "Fine," she said, still looking as if she were about to hurl, "but I'm making eggs and bacon for myself." With that said, she exited the room, headed, obviously, for the kitchen.

Inuyasha sighed in contentment before getting up to get dressed. "Isn't it bad luck to see you right now?" he called into the rest of the house as he pulled on a pair of blue jeans.

"Only if I'm in the dress," he heard her say in her soft voice, and he heard bacon begin to crackle and fry as she turned up the heat on the burner. Inuyasha's koinu ears swiveled somewhat at the various noises he could pick up from the kitchen; he could even hear his mate's stomach growling. He bit back laughter at that one as he tugged on a t-shirt.

The hanyou even heard his own bare feet padding against the hardwood floor as he came from the bedroom into the kitchen. Smiling, he hugged Kagome from behind as she cooked, and he let himself drown in the sound of her laughter. He felt her small hand rest on the back of his, and he heard her scraped the spatula against the skillet, scrambling the eggs. Behind them, the microwave went off, letting them both know that his ramen was done.

"Inuyasha?"

"Mm?"

"What were you humming just now?"

He blinked, slightly confused. He hadn't even realized that he'd been humming to himself.

"A song that I like." He held her just a tiny bit tighter.

"Can you sing it to me?"

He sighed, releasing her. "Keh, silly woman. Of course I can." He turned around and popped open the microwave as he sang,

"So, you see,

"This world doesn't matter to me.

"I'll give up all I have just to breathe

"The same air as you till the day that I die.

"I can't take my eyes off of you."

He had taken the bowl from of hot, steamy ramen out of the microwave, and he turned when he was finished singing to grab a spoon when he came face to face with a very surprised-looking Kagome.

Inuyasha chuckled as he pulled open the drawer next to his mate, who was still openly staring at him with that deer-in-headlights look that he usually loved to see on her face.

"That's the second time today you've given me that look," he told her, still smiling. He stirred his noodles, watching her. "Did I grow an extra head or something, wench?"

Kagome seemed to regain some of her composure at the sound of her old, nearly forgotten pet name, but she still regarded Inuyasha with a very serious, thoughtful expression. "It's just…" She didn't really know what to say. He quirked a silver eyebrow at her, and she cracked a slight half-smile at him. "It was beautiful, Inuyasha." She turned back to her cooking, saving the bacon just in time, and Inuyasha turned away, leaving the room.

Thankful that Kagome only had normal, human hearing, he whispered, "Yea." He took a bite of ramen before plopping down on the sofa, switching on the television. "You are."

Inuyasha Taisho thought of that conversation later that day, as he stood with everyone else and watched and waited. Suddenly, Kagome Higurashi came around the corner, and his lips parted in a small, silent gasp.

She wore a very simple dress; it was strapless, and the bodice hugged her sensual curves perfectly. The skirt flared somewhat at her hips, and then it tapered off into a medium-length train. The white of the dress clashed magnificently with her black hair, which was left down, curled around her angelic face and spilling down her milky shoulder. In her right hand, she held a small bouquet of pink and red lilies, and her left arm was joined with her grandfather's right; she towered over her jii-chan, but everyone thought it fitting for her father's father to be the one to give her away.

The duo made their way down the aisle slowly, and when they arrived, Inuyasha took Kagome's hand and nodded to Gramps. The old man shook Inuyasha's free hand. "You're a good man, Inuyasha. You'll be a great husband to my granddaughter." They hugged quickly, and Gramps hugged Kagome before sitting down in the first row, beside Kagome's mother.

The ceremony continued as it should have; Sesshomaru, who stood as his little brother's best man, handed him Kagome's ring as Inuyasha made his vows. Eri, who was Kagome's maid of honor, gave Kagome Inuyasha's ring, which she slipped onto the hanyou's ring finger, making her vows, which were simply the words,

"The whispers turn to shouting.

"The shouting turns to tears.

"Your tears turn into laughter,

"And it takes away our fears."

She held his hand gently, and she smiled as their eyes met, molten amber crashing into warm brown. "Always," she whispered.

Inuyasha smiled, his eyes filling with ecstatic tears that he had no intention of shedding as he cupped her small, sharp chin in his hand. He closed his eyes, sighing contentedly. "I knew the Kamis made you just for me." His lips crashed into hers right as the priest behind them pronounced them husband and wife.

They were now - finally - Mr. and Mrs. Inuyasha and Kagome Taisho.

Wowee, that was a long one. I'm glad I got it down finally, though. I've got this entire thing planned out, but I just haven't gotten all the details down yet. Sucks, I know.

Coming soon:

Chapter Four: Letters in the Attic.


	4. Letters in the Attic

A/N: ok, ouch from some of those flames… I'm still putting out the fires, lol. What is WITH people expecting absolute perfection? I'm a fucking photographer and mother of two. Sheesh, if you want grammatical and… plot-ical perfection, pick up a damned book. This is MY idea, deal with it. Like I tell Noah all the time… "GROW UP."

Btw… DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own the song ("One-Eighty By Summer" by Taking Back Sunday), nor do I make any money from this pointless writing and posting, writing and posting…

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Four: Letters in the Attic.

It was Kagome's dream house; he was absolutely sure of it. 'The damn place is colossal,' he thought as the realtor showed him around. Lots of space, tons of windows… The kitchen could hold several people, and the dining room was enormous enough for one of the huge tables from Sesshomaru's Western Palace. The living room was gigantic, and the carpet in it was a light tan color. The countertops were real marble, and the cabinets and island counter were made of a darkly stained wood, as were the barstools. The place had five rather large bedrooms, a three-car garage with an extra room above it (that Inuyasha planned to use of his office/practice room), and four roomy bathrooms. The place was big; there was plenty of room for a large family – and Inuyasha knew that he couldn't speak for Kagome, but he knew that _he_ wanted a large family.

As he was signing the paperwork with the realtor, he remembered living with Sesshomaru and Rin all those years. He stood to the side for centuries, watching them make babies, raise them, and just plain ole enjoy a huge family. Their oldest daughter, Aiko, was the spitting image of her sire, but she had the rambunctious personality of her ningen mother. Their next two, a pair of twin sons named Tenmaru and Ataru, looked just like Rin, but they were both very cold like their father. It had always creeped Inuyasha out, the way the two always finished each other's sentences in such a serious manner. There were the next twins, Kaoru and Kaori. The girls were identical little copies of Rin, but they had Sesshomaru's coloring and serious disposition. Kaoru had always had the better sense of humor, though; Inuyasha had always treasured each of his nieces and nephews, but everyone had always known that he was closest to little Kaoru. She had always reminded him so much of Kagome, they knew – especially the way her golden eyes had always sparkled when her sire caught them both red-handed trying to play a prank on him.

Fluffy had never said a word to Inuyasha regarding his feeling for his immediate family, but the hanyou had always known that his older brother just loved being a mate and sire. Even after the second set of twins had left Rin pretty much barren, Sesshomaru still showed her the same amount of love he always had – well, other than that one time, of course.

But Inuyasha hated to dwell on that. His family had pulled themselves back together after that whole debacle, and now he had Kagome back with him.

He knew he wanted an even bigger family than Fluffy had now.

While the movers were getting all of Kagome's things set up in this new, huge home – not to mention some new things – Inuyasha, couldn't say that he was totally shocked to see his sister-in-law and her three daughters enter the foyer. Kaoru immediately squealed in delight at seeing her favorite – and only – uncle once again. Rin laughed at her daughter as the pup jumped at her half-human uncle, shrieking, "Uncle Yash! Uncle Yash!" Kaori sneered in disgust at her twin's demeaning actions, and Aiko, the proud heir to the Western Lands, stood by and smirked. As soon as the strange secret handshake known only to Inuyasha and his youngest niece had been performed, Aiko came forward, striding smoothly across the foyer and hugging her uncle warmly. She and Inuyasha had also been very close during her childhood and adolescence; her sire may love all his children, but they were half human, like their uncle. When Aiko had been having a hard time as a teenager and blossoming "Lady" in the court's judging eyes, Uncle Yash had been the only one who could help her sort through her feelings of loneliness and shame.

That had just about killed her poor sire, Aiko knew. She loved her sire deeply, and nothing could ever match the bond she had with him; she was his firstborn, his treasure, the first person he had ever loved just by laying eyes on her. She knew that it had crushed him that she turned to Inuyasha in that time of distress. Aiko was his firstborn, his eldest pup, and quite possibly his favorite.

However, because she had gone to Uncle Yash for advice with her strange, hanyou nature, she knew that she had turned out much better for it, and all of her younger siblings had come to her for the same advice. In Aiko's eyes, she had saved her sire from a great deal more heartache in the long run, and that was good enough for her.

Inuyasha knew better than to expect any sort of warmth in Kaori's greeting. The girl was just very cold, very formal, much like her sire. Inuyasha knew that Kaoru had been the louder, more spontaneous twin, leaving Kaori, who had always been somewhat of a shy, quiet child, in the shadows. Sesshomaru had been naturally prone to show those of his children who were more like their bright ningen mother more of his affection, while the older twins and Kaori, who had his straightforward, much more reserved demeanor, grew up severely lacking when it came to their sire's attention.

Inuyasha gave Rin a brief bear hug; five hundred years may have passed since Sesshomaru had taken the young human woman as his mate, but she was still very small compared to her half-inu brother-in-law.

"Rin!" Inuyasha cried out enthusiastically. He had always enjoyed her presence, whether she was a small, adorable girl or a grown, strong-willed, magnificent woman. He also knew that Kagome and Rin would quickly become wonderful friends as soon as they managed to seize some quality "girl time" together.

Suddenly, images and memories flashed right before his mind's eye, and Inuyasha sighed silently as he wished them away.

Sango and Miroku had married soon after Kagome's disappearance, and their short human lives were filled with laughter and happiness. Inuyasha had sat outside their hut for years as he looked in, watching for nearly half a decade as Miroku suffered through years of child-rearing and seven of Sango's deadly pregnancies. The demon slayer had four single births and three sets of twins. She didn't survive the birth of the youngest twins, Yume and Ayumu. Miroku was beside himself after her death, but he pulled himself together enough to continue caring for his children – all ten of them. The oldest twins, Hana and Kasumi, were spitting images of their mother, and they were only nine at the time of her death. Sango had made damn sure that her girls knew how to protect themselves; they became a feared demon slaying duo upon reaching adulthood, never venturing too far from the other's comforting company. They ended up living in the same village, marrying and having their own families while guarding the village from demon attacks and doing work for other villages.

Sango and Miroku's oldest son, Kohaku, named for Sango's younger brother, was _not_ born with the Wind Tunnel that Miroku had been cursed with, and he led a very normal childhood. Sango trained him in combat as well, but he grew up to be more interested in religion and… ahem, _anatomy_, much to his mother's chagrin. He was only eight years old when his headstrong mother passed away.

Then there was Sanya, their next child; she had Miroku's violet eyes, but her pretty face and wild temperament no doubt came from her mother. Being only seven years old at Sango's death, she had always worshipped the woman she called hahaoya, and she became the embodiment of what the child of a monk and demon slayer should be: a very spiritual young dealer of death. Hana and Kasumi both had the same patient and forgiving nature of their monk father, but Sanya turned out uncontrollable, frenzied even; she died in battle at only twenty-two summers.

The next set of twins were fraternal, a boy named Ryou and a girl named Migoto. They were only six at the time Miroku became a single father, so they had a pretty good memory of what their mother had been like; the two, from what Inuyasha remembered, were inseparable, and both were very well-mannered and quiet like their father, but they both fought with a rare grace and sense of honor that Inuyasha was sure Sango had taught to them. They ended up living in the same village as well, side by side as neighbors, even; Ryou was Migoto's rock, and likewise, even when they both married and had their own, separate families.

Ayana had barely turned five by the time her mother died; she had absolutely idolized her "Okaa-chan." Much to Inuyasha's surprise, Ayana asked her eldest sisters for lessons in combat for self-defense only, and she became a healer of unimaginable proportions. Apparently, Sango's family wasn't just made up of demon slayers and warriors, because her youngest daughter had been born an exceptionally strong Miko… like Kikyo.

Like Kagome.

That realization had made Inuyasha's heart hurt.

Then there was Ichigo, their third-youngest son. He was only two when his younger brothers were brought into the world and his mother was taken away from it. He had no real memory of Sango, only the idea that Miroku taught him and Yume and Ayumu. They grew up knowing that she was a beautiful, willful, strong fighter, and that she stood up for good.

And that she didn't particularly enjoy her buttocks being caressed in public.

The last three took care of Miroku when they were grown and he was aged. Soon after the youngest twins reached adulthood, marrying nice girls from the village, they buried their honored father alongside their honored mother in the village plot.

Inuyasha and Miroku had remained close friends until the day of the monk's death; the hanyou had even helped him care for the children as they grew into the good, honorable adults that had probably helped to populate half of the islands he still lived on. He knew that Hana and Kasumi both had at least four children, and he had seen all of the other kiddos grow up to have at least six progenies apiece… well, all except Sanya, who had only birthed three of her own before her honorable death.

Inuyasha wondered briefly why Kagome had yet to ask about Sango and Miroku. 'She probably doesn't want to know just yet,' he reasoned, sitting down on the living room sofa beside his sister-in-law. Aiko, Kaori, and Kaoru were off in the depths of the huge home, giving their uncle's grand new abode the official look-around.

"Well," Rin started to say as she smiled and looked around. "I must say, Inuyasha, that this is very nice…" Her sparkling hazel eyes landed on her brother, and her amused smirk seemed to bore right through him. "But it doesn't seem like you."

He chuckled, shifting somewhat in his seat. "You're right," he told her. "It's more for Kagome than it is for me. She and I both like space – lots of space." He smiled very brightly at her. Rin was happy to see it. For centuries, he'd been so depressed. She'd tried to include him their family the entire time she and Sesshomaru had been mated. When she was going into labor with Aiko, she was only twenty years old; Sesshomaru had claimed her as his mate barely two years before she gave birth to his eldest pup. He was away at war with a neighboring territory, and she knew that he had commissioned Inuyasha to stay at the Western Palace and keep an eye on her. When the Palace was attacked suddenly by the usagi youkai, Inuyasha and Jaken had barely managed to help Rin out of the chaos, and, somehow, the two males had helped her through the labor pains to give birth to the heir to the Killing Perfection.

Sesshomaru returned from battle to find Rin nursing his new daughter; after hearing the stirring tale from both Rin and Jaken, he embraced Inuyasha like the brother he was. It had warmed Rin's heart greatly to see the feud between them ended finally, and they had begun to create a new, very close relationship.

Rin was continually glad to see that their relationship was just as close and brotherly as it had been for the past few centuries.

Now Inuyasha had Kagome back. Rin barely remembered the young Miko, and she was surprised to see the woman still alive in this era. When she had gone missing, her brother-in-law had finally divulged the great secret of the Bone-Eater's Well and the story of Lady Kagome's origins in the future. Sesshomaru's black expression never changed, but Rin had been positively riveted by his story. They in the Western Palace had all believed the beautiful, powerful young Miko priestess called Lady Kagome to be long dead; finding out that she had actually been trapped in the future had been a colossal shock to the entire Western family.

But even as Rin sat on the sofa with Inuyasha, chatting and admiring the new home he had purchased to share with his new wife and longtime mate, she was almost in disbelief at the turn of events.

"Oh… my… GOD!"

Rin turned in her seat, surprised by the outburst. She and Inuyasha saw Kagome standing in the foyer, her eyes wide. She gawked, open-mouthed, before turning to the two sitting on the living room sofa. The young woman who had been talking with her husband stood and approached her.

"Lady Kagome?" she questioned timidly. "Do you remember me?"

Kagome's face scrunched a bit as she struggled to remember this woman. Faces flashed through her mind as she racked her brain for the answer, and those bright, sparkling hazel eyes shone right through the haze. The face she remembered, though, was that of a pretty, preteen human girl in the Warring States era.

She blinked. "Rin?" she asked in a slightly shaking voice. "Is that you?"

The human ward of Sesshomaru had grown into a mature and very beautiful young woman. Kagome wondered briefly how she could still be alive and young and so exquisite-looking five centuries later, but the realization that the Lord of the West had made her his lifemate struck her before she could open her mouth and ask a very stupid, very personal, and probably very unnecessary question. She looked over at Inuyasha instead, and he understood her unspoken question.

"When a youkai claims a human as a mate, that human is granted the youkai's lifespan and some of his or her strength and healing abilities," he explained goodnaturedly. "Think of it as a sort of physical dowry." Rin giggled to her left. Kagome's eyes widened some at his mellow, mature words, and she looked back at Rin, who was smiling knowingly.

"Because Sesshomaru and Inuyasha belong to the ruling inuyoukai pack of the West," Rin began, putting her hand to Kagome's lower back and leading the stunned priestess further into the mansion, "they have above-average strength and are immune to pretty much all poisons and toxins. Because we are mated to them, we're stronger than normal humans, we heal faster than normal humans, and we simply don't age. Also, so far, I've only fallen ill to one type of toxin in the past five hundred years, and you really don't see that many kumo around here anymore…"

Kagome blinked in surprise as all three of them sat down together. "Wow." She looked around at her absolutely elegant surroundings. "I have to say, Rin, that this is an amazing home you've got here. You've got to have the best taste that I have ever seen!"

Rin chuckled, her pretty hazel eyes darting over to Inuyasha, who had since slouched back in his recliner, a cocky smirk glued to his face as he anticipated his mate's reaction to their next words: "Oh, thanks, honey, but this isn't my house."

Kagome instantly looked confused. "It's not?"

"No, silly wench!" Inuyasha laughed wholeheartedly. "Rin, Sesshomaru, and their entire brood still live in the Western Palace, away from ningen eyes. Besides, the security there is way tight."

Her chocolate eyes, still glowing with puzzlement, centered on her mate. "Then whose…"

Her eyes widened as, once again, realization hit her like a semi.

"WHAT?!"

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It took less than a week for the couple to get everything moved into their new home. All of the rooms were filled to the brim with elegant, gorgeous furniture. Inuyasha had his practice room stacked with sheet music, a beautiful, black grand piano, and his three electric guitars. Kagome recognized the deep blue Fender from the night she found him performing at the university lounge; he usually kept it hanging on the wall.

Kagome herself rarely went into his practice room other than to let him know that his ramen was done; she normally kept to herself during his practice times, pouring over her history books. She spent loads of time in her own study, sitting at her desk, writing countless research papers and theses, the majority of which were on the Sengoku Jidai.

Inuyasha smirked as his bandmates entered his private practice room and sat down at their individual instruments. Chiyo sat down at the drums; she had her bright red hair up in a high, spiked-out ponytail, and she wore a loose, earthy green camisole, ripped-at-the-knee indigo jeans, and black flip flops. Inuyasha had found her playing in her rather straight-laced parents' garage on the outskirts of Edo; she was amazing, and he offered to pay her way so that she could to Tokyo U and fine tune her skills. He also did it because he would recognize those violet eyes and violent disposition anywhere; hell, the girl was even a raging pervert like her ancestor! He often wondered which of the ten kiddos she had descended from.

Osami came in next, violin in hand. He was a very shy, very quiet boy, and Inuyasha had somehow managed to persuade him into transferring from Juliard in the States to Tokyo U. The boy was a damned prodigy as far as Inuyasha was concerned, and he would have a long, fulfilling career as a classical musician if the hanyou had anything to do with it.

Then Keisuke entered the room and plopped down in one of the various recliners, his Yamasaki bass in one hand and a microphone in the other. He smirked and tossed the mic to Inuyasha. "You left that at the lounge a few weeks ago, when you ran off with your bitch." He snickered a little at his older bandmate. Inuyasha just gave the kid a slightly reproachful look; this kid was about as reckless and audacious as he once was, back in the Warring States era.

As he looked over his friends, all three of the people who, he realized right then, were more than 450 years _younger_ than he was at that moment, Inuyasha licked his lips and flipped on the mic, grabbing up his solid orange Fender and setting the microphone into the notch in the stand. Keisuke hopped enthusiastically to his feet, plugging the cord from the amp into his Yamasaki. Osami rose a bit more slowly, positioning the bottom of the violin against the underside of his chin. Chiyo, who sat at her black and red drumset a few feet back, grinned like the wild, punk pervert that she was and twirled her drumsticks in her hands.

"Showoff," Keisuke growled.

Starting them off, she stuck her tongue out at the bassist and struck the sticks together four times, counting loudly with each strike: "One, two, three, four!"

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Kagome could hear the music from all the way across the large house. After a few moments of drums and bass, the guitar strums became louder, and her mate's pretty baritone floated through the otherwise soundless evening:

"Go on just say it.

"Sincerely and sure.

"You need me like a bad habit.

"One that leave you –

"Defenseless.

"Dependant.

"And alone."

Kagome sighed, leaning back in her very comfy black swivel chair and wrung her hands. She glowered a little at the giant textbook sitting, open, on her desk. She glanced at her computer screen and stood to look around the room at the stacks of books lying around on the floor.

"Cliché like your name

"My voice and the center

"'I've been trying to forget ya.'

"But I only sleep beneath you.

"And nothing's that important

"Not anymore…"

Kagome stopped sifting through her many, many textbooks to stand stock still and listen to the lyrics for a minute or two. The music emanating from his practice room sounded to melancholy, so despondent.

"Are you ashamed to say what you want to?

"Well, are you?

"Tell me you want to.

"Say it.

"Go on, just say it.

"I hold my tongue

"Use it to assess

"The damage from way back when it mattered

"Feel around.

"Get cozy.

"Go crazy.

"Get comfortable."

'He's seemed so happy these past few months since the wedding,' she mused as she threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. This was the whole reason she wasn't too keen on leaving the apartment that they'd shared for the past several months; at least there she knew where everything was. Kagome left the room and started down the hall. She couldn't find the textbook that she was looking for in the piles of books in her study. 'It has to be in some of the leftover boxes in the attic,' she resolved as she walked.

"We're just protecting ourselves

"So forfeit yourself

"Give me up. Give me up.

"And make something more to your liking.

"A poet

"Oh, prince!

"I don't think I'll ever come back down…"

She climbed the stairs quickly, using the balls of her feet to hop upward from one stair to the next. Finally, Kagome was at the top, and she opened the oak door and stepped inside, immersing herself in dust and darkness.

"Are you ashamed to say what you want to?

"Even after all we taught you

"Still.

"It just seems pointless

"With all the obvious lines out of focus

"Still…"

Kagome flicked on the light and stepped forward slowly, scanning the dimly lit room for the box that she was looking for. She found herself all the way in the back of the attic, and she still hadn't found the right box… when something else caught her eye.

It was a very old, wooden chest; the wood was made of a reddish, cherry-colored wood. It was a decent size, and it was somewhat rectangular in shape with a rounded, arched lid, reminding Kagome of a pirate's treasure chest. The latch connecting the lid with the outside part of the trunk was made of a fine quality leather, and it had a dark crescent moon burned into the top of the latch.

Kagome blinked. 'Rin told me once that the crescent moon became the symbol of the Western house because of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father,' she thought. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she undid the latch.

"You sing you sing you sing

"Why can't you just be happy?

"Why can't you just be happy?

"I don't think I'll ever come back down…

"I don't think I'll ever come back down…

"And I don't think I'll ever come back…"

The trunk popped open, and Kagome slowly pushed the lid up, opening the wooden chest further. Dust flew everywhere, and Kagome got the immediate impression that this particular chest hadn't been opened in quite some time.

As soon as the dust was cleared, Kagome took a closer look at the trunk's contents. She squinted as a familiar hint of red sticking out from the bottom of the trunk, and she reached for it. As soon as her finger sank into the cloth, it hit her what she had found. 'Inuyasha's fire-rat,' she thought with a startled gasp, her eyes widening just a fraction.

"Just say it…

"Go on just say it…

"Well, I'll just say it…

"I need you defenseless,

"Dependant,

"And alone.

"Live up to you first impression

"Well my best side was your worst invention.

"'Can't you live without the attention?'

"'Why can't you live without the attention?'"

Kagome released the torn haori and started looking at the trunk's other contents. She found the broken Tetsusaiga sheath, countless journals and scrolls and likenesses and photographs.

Then she came across another piece of clothing, but this was very different from the fire-rat. This was long and made of pure, fine silk; Kagome was amazed at the beautiful feel of it against her fingertips. Lifting it out of the trunk to get a better look at it, she realized that it was a very old, very nice, very _traditional_, and very expensive white kimono with red sakura blossoms painted across the bodice. As she unraveled the cloth, Kagome scrunched her face, puzzled; something was wrapped in it.

She didn't notice as the music downstairs began to build up drastically as she held the kimono's secret contents in her hands. They were old, yellowed envelopes, a whole stack of them, all addressed to Inuyasha. The kanji was soft and feminine; 'Whoever wrote these had positively beautiful handwriting,' Kagome mused as she read the return address, from a "Tanaka Keiko." It was an address in Tokyo that Kagome didn't recognize. She delicately slid one of the letters out of its envelope and began to read.

"Defenseless…

"Can't you live without the attention?

"Dependant…

"Can't you live without the attention?"

Kagome's brow furrowed as she read onward, and she didn't even notice the music abruptly stop and start up again at a much faster pace, obviously another song from Inuyasha's setlist.

Swallowing audibly, Kagome looked up from the ancient letter, completely mortified. "While I was gone…" she murmured in disbelief to no one in particular, "Inuyasha fell in love with a geisha?!?"

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A/N: Wow. Seriously, folks, who saw that coming?

Next time:

Chapter Five: I Think I'll Break Your Heart…


	5. I Think I'll Break Your Heart

A/N: Whoo, the last one was a doozy. I really hadn't expected it to be that long once I'd gotten it typed up. The next few chapters are already written down in a notebook that I keep on hand around the studio, but they're all in bits and pieces, so bear with me while I try to reconnect all the dots and get them all typed up. I'll post as soon as I can.

P.S. Wikipedia is now officially my best friend.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Five: I Think I'll Break Your Heart…

Inuyasha noticed that something was off after his practice ended and his band mates had left. He popped into Kagome's office; there she was, safe and sound, sitting at her desk. She looked up when she felt his amber eyes boring right into her. Brown met gold for a few minutes, and they stared each other down, both gazes refusing to waver.

The hanyou noted the salty scent of old tears and his mate's red-rimmed eyes as he stood in the doorway of her home office. His brow furrowed in confusion as he stepped inside the rather large study. "Kagome, is everything -" He stopped short when he saw a familiar piece of clothing folded neatly beside her arm on the wooden desktop.

He lifted his hand, pointing at the white and red silken _kimono_ lying on her desk. "Wh-What is that?" he asked his mate.

She licked her bottom lip, shifting in her seat. Her eyes glimmered somewhat in the dim light of the desk lamp beside her, and she was a little nervous about broaching this subject with her husband. She knew that Inuyasha was still in a very fragile emotional state; Kagome was afraid that he might break at any moment.

His hands visibly shook as he clenched them into fists, glaring at his wife. "You been snooping, haven't you?" he asked her.

Kagome just watched him, perfectly still and silent. Finally, she said, "I want you to tell me what these are all about." She stood and walked around her desk, calmly approaching him. She held the _kimono_ and letters out to him. Trying his best to refrain from growling possessively at her, Inuyasha snatched the items away from her, stalking out of the room. A little shocked at his behavior, Kagome chased after him down the hallway, calling to him, "Inuyasha, dammit! Wait! Stop right there!"

When he ignored her, she let loose an inhuman growl and yelled, as a last resort, "_Osuwari_!"

Nothing. She 'humph'ed when he disappeared into the attic. Spinning completely around on her heel, the retired priestess stomped through the mini-mansion, weaving through corridors and filler rooms until she reached the giant kitchen on the ground floor. Sighing, Kagome started some coffee and sat down at the island counter, holding her head in her hands.

Inuyasha paused for a moment when he heard the sounds of the coffeemaker start up in the kitchen downstairs. He was squatting in front of the old chest that Sesshomaru had commissioned for him the century before. His _koinu_ ears swiveled around at the sound of chair legs scraping against the hardwood floor downstairs; he stared down at the beautiful silk in his fingers as he thought, 'Kagome must've sat down in the kitchen.' Taking one last hard look at the silk, he sighed heavily and stuck the _kimono_ and the letters into the chest and shut it tight.

Kagome was leaning against the island counter, blowing gently on the steaming mug of hot coffee she'd just poured herself. Inuyasha walked in suddenly and poured himself a cup of coffee, glancing at his silent wife from the corner of his eye as he pulled open the fridge door and poked around a minute for the milk. Once he found it, he poured some into his coffee until it swirled a light brown. Sniffing lightly, he shoved the gallon milk back into the fridge, slamming the door shut and stepping up to Kagome.

She looked up from her coffee when she felt his presence coming nearer. He was staring straight at her already, his golden eyes stormy and hesitant. He plopped down into one of the barstools at the kitchen island counter, finally looking away from her. In very Inuyasha-like fashion, he grumbled something under his breath, glancing at Kagome so she'd know that he was talking to her.

His wife smiled softly, leering at him a little. 'So he hasn't _completely_ matured over the past five hundred years,' she thought. "What was that, Mr. Taisho?"

Inuyasha growled rather loudly at her, causing her smile to grow into a full-blown grin. "I _said_, c'mere and take a load off, will ya? I'll tell ya the damned story if you'll _stop _looking at me that way!" He smacked the palm of his hand hard against the seat of the barstool next to him. Trying to stifle her "disrespectful" giggles, she complied, taking the seat next to him at the counter.

They were both silent for a few more moments as Inuyasha took a big, long drink from his cup. Kagome, of course, was the epitome of patience as she sat there beside him, lightly sipping at her own mug of black coffee.

Finally, he was done; his cup was empty, and he shoved it further away from him on the counter, leaning back in the barstool and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm gonna tell ya the damned story," he started gruffly, "but I'm gonna lay down some rules before I start."

Kagome nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

"Rule number one," he started, watching her one silver eyebrow raised, "no interrupting once I get into the full swing of story time. Rule number two, no getting angry about anything in it, and I mean, _anything_. I had to spend a good five hundred years sincerely believing that you were either dead or that you hated me and would never come back to me. Rule number three, no questions till the very end; it's something that I just don't really want to talk about; it's a long, miserable story, so you're lucky to get as much as I'm giving you. That's also the reason I have my last rule, rule number four. _I _will be telling it, and when I want to stop, we're gonna stop. When _I _feel like picking back up, we'll pick back up where we left off." Inuyasha stared Kagome down, almost daring her to object to any of his "rules."

She smiled brightly at her husband, despite his briefly harsh tone. "It's a deal," she told him, holding out her hand. He took it in his, giving it a light shake. Inuyasha suddenly gave his wife a very uncharacteristic smile.

Then the hanyou sighed. "Well, it all started in 1937, only a couple of years before the second World War…"

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The air in Tokyo that winter night was absolutely freezing, even to those of us with demon in our blood; I could practically _see _my breath in the dim light comiing from the windows of the surrounding buildings.

Of course, that meant that my niece Kaoru could see hers floating in the air as well. The pup squealed in delight at this discovery, and she was obviously enthusiastic about the slowly falling snow. Kaori, who walked beside her twin, just looked around with a blank look on her face, one I'm sure she learned from Lord Asshole. She really didn't seem all that impressed. Rin had dressed them in matching pink _kimonos_ with white cranes and pink _obis_; both girls were about the size of an eleven or twelve year old _ningen_ child, but they were in fact about seventeen summers. Sesshomaru, Aiko, and the boys had stayed behind in the West, and I had somehow gotten myself roped into accompanying the "little _onnas_ and their difficult mother," as Fluff had once put it, into Tokyo for birthday present for the old bastard.

As Kaoru laughed and stuck her tongue out, hoping to catch a falling snowflake or two, Kaori had glared at her, remaining silent the entire time we walked through the streets. Rin was smiling and happy, wearing a solid seafoam green _komon_ with a white _obi_ tied around her waist. She'd tied her long hair back into one of those tight, slick buns with a pair of decorative green chopsticks stuck at odd angles through it.

The girls and their haha found "the perfect gift for chichi," but they wouldn't let me in on it. They said I'd tell their sire the big surprise just to piss him off, which is bullshit, because Rin would kill me.

Anyway, we stopped in at a small teahouse to warm up. Kaori, Kaoru and Rin all had reddened noses and rosy cheeks from the cold, and I was pretty sure that I looked just as goofy. The hostess bowed to us and politely led us down the halls to a private room. A pair of young ningen _geisha_ were already waiting there for us with a roaring fire going in the fireplace and a pot of hot, fresh tea.

I could immediately tell that they were a newly introduced _geisha_, a _maiko_, and her quite talented _onee-san_. The _maiko_ was silent and nervous as she poured us some tea, while her older sister chattered with Rin and the girls, trying constantly to lure me into conversation.

Pfft.

The older one's name was Sakura, and the _maiko_ was Keiko; they were from the Tanaka _okiya_ in Asakusa. I could tell immediately that Sakura was the mouth of the pair and the musician. The callouses on her fingertips spoke volumes of her practice time with the lute that was leaning in the corner of the room.

Obviously, Keiko was the dancer; she was very skilled with her fans, and she even served the tea gracefully. She was very quiet and thoughtful and polite, and there was something familiar about her… Most of the time, Sakura and Keiko both kept their eyes lowered from mine out of respect, and I could tell that they were more than a little surprised by Rin's audaciousness as she joked around with me, meeting my eyes easily.

Every now and then, though, I would look at Keiko, and her eyes would meet mine… They were a warm brown, and, when I looked into them that first time, my arms went numb, my chest tightened, and face felt hot. I had to look away from her quickly; I was so thoroughly embarrassed by my body's sudden response to her. I was still waiting for you. I didn't know exactly when you would exist, but I knew that I hadn't reached your time yet.

I felt, in that moment, as though I'd betrayed you in some way.

A week later, it was Sesshomaru's birthday; I have no idea how old he was or is now, nor do I really give a shit. Anyway, the teahouse that Rin and Aiko had chosen to host his birthday celebration was a very popular one located in one of the southern districts of Tokyo. They'd even gone so far as to invite some of the board members from the company.

I have to say, I was surprised when the door opened a pair of _geisha_ entered the room to join the three that had already been present when we arrived. I recognized them both almost instantly from their faces and their scents. Keiko and Sakura wore similar _susohiki_; Sakura's was white with pink sakura blossoms all over it, and she had a matching hot pink _obi_ wrapped tightly around her waist. Keiko wore a silvery _susohiki_ with dark green leaves painted across it, and her _obi_ was dark green as well, matching the leaves perfectly.

They were both very personable; Sakura had one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen, and she told some of the greatest jokes that I had ever heard. She had Rin and me practically _rolling _on the tan, carpet floor with laughter. Aiko was grinning broadly, obviously having a good time. The asshole even managed a small smirk. The boys, Tenma and Ataru, paid pretty much no attention to the gorgeous _ningen_ _onnas_, even though the _geisha_ tried their damndest to keep the party entertained.

All the way through the night, through all of the laughs and stories and jokes, I watched Keiko closely. The _maiko_ was much, much quieter than her fully matured companion. After about an hour or so, I touched my sister-in-law very lightly on the knee, giving her a small smile and nodding to my brother. Sesshomaru nodded back to me, giving me his "permission" to move across the room. Somehow I successfully held myself back from rolling my eyes at him, and I moved closer to Keiko, who sat just across from me.

For a few minutes, she remained quiet, letting out a soft sigh or giggle at all the appropriate moments. As I came closer to her, I noticed her lick her lips and nervously finger her long, dark green fan. She fidgeted a little on her knees, and I leaned into her, whispering, "You're still pretty new at this, aren't you?" I smirked at her surprise, and she jumped back from me a bit.

She bowed her head in apology after, once again, accidentally meeting my eyes. "Forgive me, my Lord," she murmured. "I do not mean to offend you with my lack of skill."

I was clearly taken aback by her answer, and the submission, though good for my beast, was quickly driving my human nature onto its bad side. I reached over slowly, gently cupping her chin in my hand and raising her face. After a second or two, her eyes met mine again, and I sighed. "Keiko, is it?" I asked her. She nodded, blinking at me, but still meeting my gaze. "Look, I really hate all of this formal crap. I just really want you to be straight with me. You seem like a real nice person. I don't think of you or anyone else as my subordinate. From now on, I'm _Mr. _Taisho or Inuyasha, whichever you prefer. And my equal needs to look me in the eyes and speak freely around me."

Her mouth had dropped open in shock about halfway through my little speech, and Rin laughed loudly from across the room. "Be nice, Inuyasha!" she cried out, tossing a small handtowel at me. I snapped my head to my left, grinning at her and releasing Keiko's chin to catch the flying object and throw it back at her with double the force. When I turned back to the quiet _maiko_, Keiko was finally smiling. It seemed she had a sense of humor after all.

We continued talking as though we were a pair of ordinary people. I found out that she was a pretty strong-willed girl; she told me that she and Sakura were, in fact, true birth sisters, Sakura being the older one. It was a rarity for true sisters to both find themselves part of the same _okiya_. The two had both come from a small family in a village close to the sea, the name of which she couldn't remember. Her father had been a fisherman, and their mother had died when they were both very young. The fisherman had sent them to Tokyo along with a friend of his to find an _okiya_ and become _geisha_. Shortly after that, they found Mother Tanaka and the Tanaka _okiya_.

The next week, when Sesshomaru and I just went out to a teahouse after a long day's work for a drink of sake, I requested the company of Sakura and Keiko from Asakusa. They came in and sat with us a while, and, somehow, Sakura made Fluffy chuckle.

He _chuckled_.

I was amazed.

This little arrangement went on for a little while, maybe a couple months. Whenever I would go out to a teahouse, whoever it was with, I would specifically request the company of the _geisha_ Sakura and the _maiko_ Keiko from Asakusa. The two would arrive within minutes, and one evening I finally got their address after quite a bit of flirting with the elderly hostess.

Keiko had divulged to me quite a bit of personal information; on the day of her birthday, I decided to put it all to good use. She was a very sweet girl, and I could tell that her _okiya_ was not a very rich one. She and Sakura traded _kimonos_ and rewore them quite a few times, so I figured out pretty quickly that they really didn't have that many nice things.

I went and bought her a very fancy, very expensive _susohiki_. I made sure that it was made of the finest silk in Japan, and I bought it for her. It was white with red sakura blossoms – yes, the very one still sitting upstairs in the trunk. She doesn't have much use for it now.

Anyway, I bought it and wrapped it appropriately for her in a nice, pink box. I followed directions from passersby in Asakusa to find the Tanaka _okiya_, and, lo and behold, I found it eventually. It was a sort of rundown, old building, but it was fairly large; it could hold a fairly large number of _geisha_. Slowly, I undid the latch on the wooden gate and entered the courtyard.

There was an older woman tending some of the flowers close to the wooden porch; she stopped what she was doing and looked at me when I approached her. Her hair was thin and wispy and gathered up in a neat sidebun; she wore a simple, everyday _komon_ that was a dark, navy blue color, and she blinked at me, obviously puzzled by my mere presence in her courtyard.

"I am Lord Inuyasha Taisho of the West," I called to her in greeting. She turned completely to face me, momentarily stunned by my words. "And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

"I am Mother Tanaka, the _okaa-san_ of the Tanaka _okiya_ that you see before you," she answered, trying not to stammer.

I smiled gently and bowed at the waist; she politely bowed back. "My Lord, to what do we of the Tanaka _okiya_ owe this pleasure?" she asked me simply.

"Is it not the _maiko_ Keiko's nineteenth birthday today, Mother Tanaka?" I asked her.

She nodded, now more puzzled than ever. "Yes, good Lord, it is. But what would you want to do with an insignificant _maiko_ from Asakusa?"

I glowered a bit at her statement. "This Lord does not feel that the _maiko_ Keiko is of any insignificance," I replied coldly, gesturing to the gift in my hand. "May I call on her, Mother Tanaka? I would feel greatly satisfied giving her this gift myself."

The older woman blinked in surprise and started for the front door. "But of course, sir!" She held the wooden door open for me. I entered the foyer of the large _okiya_ and was led to the sitting room, where the older woman promptly served me hot tea. I sat, sipping at the tea, and Keiko entered the room dressed only in a sun-yellow _yukata_. Because this was an innocent house call, there was no need for her to wear her traditional makeup, so she was au-naturale for the day, and she wore her pin-straight, smooth, ebony hair down.

After a few moments, she blushed under my intense gaze. Realizing that I was making her uncomfortable, I coughed and looked away. My shock didn't – couldn't – subside, though; I honestly hadn't meant to stare at her, but I had never met with Keiko outside the teahouse before. I had only ever seen small, sweet _maiko_ Keiko in her traditional _susohiki _and makeup.

Without all that chalky white makeup, she looked exactly like you, Kagome.

She bowed her head to me in greeting, polite as always. "Mr. Taisho," she murmured, her voice small but strong as she raised her head, making sure not to meet my eyes. I rolled my own orbs, even though I knew that she wasn't playing by my usual rules because of her _okaa-san's _presence in the room. It was moments like this that really made me long for your distant future. People were just way too fucking respectful in the Edo period for my tastes.

But I held my tongue, and I bowed at waist to her and, once again, to the lady of the house, Mother Tanaka. It struck me right then that Mother Tanaka might have been quite pretty at one time, but years of entertaining with music and dance had taken a toll on her somewhat stern face. She seemed to be a strict _okaa-san_, but I knew that both Sakura and Keiko had been very fortunate to have found such a strict and honorable _okaa-san_; I knew that there was no way in the seven hells that Keiko _or _Sakura would have been able to survive Tokyo's "Red Light District."

To be honest, I visibly shuddered at the mere thought, mostly because it made me imagine you working those dimly lit streets, the skirt of your kimono hiked high for potential customers to see…

That image then made me just… suddenly very angry.

Hell, it _still_ does.

I remember standing there in the sitting room of the Tanaka _okiya_, and the only thought that resonated through my thick skull as I tried _not _to stare at the _maiko_ with your face was, 'No man may touch her…' My vision started to fade into red.

Suddenly, as reality sunk in, I realized that I was still just standing in the sitting room of the Tanaka _okiya_ in Asakusa, with Keiko and Mother Tanaka, who were both glancing back and forth and giving me some seriously weird looks. I also realized right then that you hadn't even been _born _yet, and I was clenching my fist and becoming obscenely angry for, really, nothing. I swallowed uncomfortably, releasing my fist.

The mood was tense for another minute or so until the door opened and another young woman entered the _okiya_.

I turned to see for myself who it was, although my nose had already told me. The scent of lavender drifted into the room, and it clashed with Keiko's sunflower smell. Keiko's _one-san_ stopped right where she was standing, silent for once. I smirked as I briefly met Sakura's surprised eyes, which were a very rare grey, before she recovered and bowed her head to me, again in respect.

"Good morning, Mr. Taisho," she greeted me, and I could hear the slight ring of question in her uncharacteristically polite voice.

"Good morning, Sakura." I noticed right then that she was wearing her hair in a much less formal style. It was wound on the right side of her head in a loose bun, a mess of black curls. Her _yukata_ was old and an olive green color; she made it look quite pretty. The color complimented her complexion perfectly.

"Mr. Taisho was bringing a gift for Keiko," Mother Tanaka answered Sakura's unspoken question. The older girl nodded.

"For her birthday," I added. For some strange reason, I felt compelled to give Sakura a good reason for getting Keiko a new kimono and not her. The _geisha_ glanced up at me, then she quickly looked away. It was a fleeting gaze, but there were emotions in her eyes that I couldn't totally understand at the time: surprise, sadness, understanding…

Longing.

I watched Sakura a moment longer, my surprise never-fucking-ending, it seemed. 'Does Sakura… have feelings for me?' I wondered.

'No,' I answered myself in my head, pushing that look she had given me out of my mind. 'No, she's a geisha. Geisha aren't meant to belong to one man, and she knows that.'

Yet I continued to watch Sakura as she stepped forward, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her small nose. She had light freckles, but freckles nonetheless; I guess I had just never noticed them before. 'They must've hidden them under all her _geisha_ makeup,' I thought.

It was right then, as we all sat and had tea and watched Keiko open what could have quite possibly been the most expensive thing she'd ever been given up till that moment, that I realized just how much these _geisha_ could cover up using that damned makeup.

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A/N: There. Whoo! That took FOREVER! I had to do a bunch of rewriting, because I'd used very simple, American terms for everything in the first draft, and it just didn't feel REAL to me, so I went back and changed out all the terms. Plus, the whole story was originally told in third person POV, and I decided last-minute (being the spontaneous person that you love and Bobby is annoyed by) to change it into Inuyasha's POV. I think it works better this way.

So… Next time:

Chapter Six: …With a Story, Not a Mallet.


	6. With a Story, Not a Mallet

A/N: I think some of you people are just gluttons for punishment… still flaming on Mediaminer and AFF? And I'm, like, 6 chapters into this fic? If you don't like the fic, don't read it. It's as simple as that. *shakes head* I mean, was I the only one left on the planet whose Momma taught her to only give constructive criticism?

P.S. A little warning, there is some implied rape in this chapter, but I couldn't bring myself to write it out. You all know my problem with rape… And I felt that Kagome doesn't deserve to hear this, in _detail_, from Inuyasha… So, please, just go with me on this.

Anyway, I don't own Inuyasha or the song included in this chapter, which is "Sandalwood," by Lisa Loeb, whom I discovered through my husband. She's one of his favorites, and now she's one of mine, too.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Six: …With a Story, Not a Mallet.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, believe me, babe, I am."

"Inuyasha! This wasn't part of the original agreement!"

"Keh! Like I care, woman! You wanna hear _my_ story, then you gotta do what _I_ say. And _I _say… let there be _karaoke_!"

Sesshomaru raised one silver eyebrow as he watched his brother and sister-in-law bicker back and forth. To this day, he still didn't understand his brother's affection for music, and he didn't understand Inuyasha's reasoning for conning his mate into this shameful and embarrassing act. Kagome sat across the small, round table from the taiyoukai, staring, wide-eyed, at her husband. Inuyasha's smirk was several times cockier than any time they had seen it in the past, and Rin was trying her hardest not to burst into laughter at their immature quarrel.

Finally, Kagome's eyes narrowed into a heated glare directed right at Inuyasha, who sat in the seat right beside her. "Fine," she growled, "but only because you backed me into a corner. And you have to tell me the next part _right after_ I get off the stage."

Inuyasha grinned triumphantly. "Ok," he told her. "It's a deal." He held his hand out for her to shake, but she stood and brushed right past him, obviously giving him the cold shoulder. His grin didn't falter as he hooted and hollered for Kagome encouragingly. Still she glowered at him as she stepped up onto the raised stage, and she told the DJ in a low voice her choice of song. The DJ nodded and typed something into his computer just as Kagome stepped up to the lonesome microphone at the front of the stage.

Suddenly, the lights lowered, and a sweet, soft acoustic started up; after just a few moments, Kagome started singing,

"She can't tell that all of the love songs have been written,

"'Cause she's never been in love with you before."

Inuyasha watched her, his grin disappearing at the sweet way she sang those sweet words. Her brown eyes cut through the thick crowd of the karaoke bar, finding him, meeting his golden eyes. Her voice was very natural, if not a little on the nasally side. But that was what held him so captivated; it was like listening to a real person sing about real emotions.

"Your skin smells lovely like sandalwood.

"Your hair falls soft like animals.

"I'm tryin' to keep cool, but everyone likes you…"

She smiled at him behind the mic, and took a deep breath. The acoustic sped up just barely as she went on,

"I want to kiss the back of your neck,

"The top of your spine, where your hair hits,

"And gnaw on your fingertips and fall asleep,

"I'll talk you to sleep."

Kagome's eyes closed as her voice grew louder, as did the acoustic.

"But I'll be the one

"That I will have chosen.

"I'm tryin' to keep cool, but everyone here likes you.

"I'm not the only one…

"Your skin smells lovely like sandalwood.

"Your hair falls soft like animals.

"And nothin' else matters…

"To me."

Inuyasha felt pinpricks in his fingers right then at her words, and when Kagome opened her eyes and they met his once more, he felt the goosebumps rise all over his body, up and down his arms. For that single, solitary second when their eyes met, it was as if they were closer than any kiss or any act of lovemaking could bring two people. They were on the same level in that moment, feeling the same feelings. It was intense.

"She can't tell me that

"All of the love songs have been written, 'cause

"She's never been in love with you before.

"In love with you… before…"

Then the acoustic slowed, and Kagome sang on a bit more quietly,

"Your hand,

"So hot,

"Burns a hole in

"My hand.

"I wanted to show you…"

Slowly, the acoustic waned and died, and Kagome stepped back from the mic stand, signaling that she was done. She grinned sheepishly at Inuyasha as she stepped down from the stage and approached their table. He beamed at his mate as Rin whooped and hollered. "Congratulations, Kagome-chan!" she exclaimed. "That was totally awesome!"

Kagome laughed at her sister-in-law's excitement. "Come on, Rin-chan," she said. "I was _so_ not that good."

"That is not true, miko," Sesshomaru interrupted, his amber eyes settling on Kagome's stunned expression. "You did quite well for someone who is not at all practiced with the art of singing." Then his eyes transferred over to his brother, who just 'humph'ed.

"You did do very well," he whispered to his wife once Sesshomaru and Rin had turned their attention back to the stage, where the newest victim had already taken her stance in front of the mic. As a scantily clad waitress passed by, Inuyasha quickly ordered a dry martini for himself and an strawberry marguerita for his mate. The waitress smiled and walked off, and Inuyasha turned back to Kagome.

"Okay, Inuyasha," Kagome said eagerly. "Fair is fair. Now, spill!"

"Here?!" he exclaimed. "You want me to start the story back up _here_?"

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha," Rin berated him, refusing to take her eyes off of the very off-key singer onstage. "You've done way more embarrassing stuff in public before than tell your wife about your old flame."

Inuyasha paled at her words and grimaced just as Kagome's shocked, brown eyes darted to meet Rin, who looked at them both with wide, surprised eyes. "Oh, crap," she mumbled, staring at them. "You haven't gotten to that part yet?"

Her brother-in-law shook his head. "I _was_ planning on giving her a little time to adjust to the idea of me seeing someone – _any_one, whether it be her reincarnation or her lookalike or _whatever_ – before I gave her that side of the story." He returned his sheepish gaze to his wife, who was still staring, shocked, at him.

"Miko," Sesshomaru finally piped up, not taking his eyes off the obnoxiously bad singer on the stage. Kagome switched her dumbfounded, open-mouthed stare from her husband to his older brother. "If you do not desist that impertinent behavior at once, this Sesshomaru will be forced to tell you the tale of my brother and the _geisha_, and I can assure you that you will most definitely not be pleased with my rendering."

"But-"

"There will be no backtalking of the sort," the taiyoukai commanded, his tone thick and firm. Still, he watched the imbecile at the mic stand. "You cannot expect a male of our stature and prowess to go nearly five-hundred years without his mate. The half-breed actually lasted a great deal longer than any other youkai were willing to give him credit for." For a moment, they all thought they saw his golden eyes flicker over to his younger brother before returning to the show before them. "This Sesshomaru won quite a deal of money over the hanyou's strength of will."

Rin hit him gently in the arm. "Sessh-san!"

He smirked down at the tiny _onna_, obviously amused.

Inuyasha sighed finally and stood up, leaving the table. Kagome, who had just gotten over her initial shock, was once again surprised into complete silence, and she got up and followed her husband. He made his way through the throngs of people crowded around the dancefloor and stage, arriving at the bar, where he leaned against the black countertop and held his head in his hands. When he felt her hands on his shoulders, he slumped a little, comforted by her mere presence.

"Look," he said just loud enough for her to hear him over the squalling that now emanated from the lit stage, "I was going to tell you. Just… in my own way, you know?"

She sat on the closest barstool, pulling it closer to him before she planted her butt in it. Still rubbing his shoulders gently, she smiled. "I know," she told him in her normal voice, knowing that his sensitive ears ('Which are probably pounding by this point,' she mused) could pick up her small yet meaningful words.

Inuyasha almost instantly perked up. He turned his head and gave her his trademark smirk before plopping into the barstool beside him. Kagome released his shoulders, and right then the waitress showed up with their drinks. She smiled and thanked the girl, who then disappeared back into the thickening crowd.

"I'm only going to tell you a small part tonight," he told her, sipping his martini. "We've had such a great night so far… I don't want to ruin it much more than it's already been ruined." He turned and gave his sister-in-law a glare over his shoulder. Kagome laughed and patted his back, urging him with her body motion to face her once again. "It's not her fault, Inuyasha," she told her husband. "She didn't know how far we'd gotten into it."

He "keh"ed, but he knew that she was right. Taking another swig of his martini, he only grew braver; looking her directly in her brown eyes, he began the hard part of his tale:

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After a year or so of meeting up with Keiko and Sakura at the teahouses, I'd become rather close to them both, but Keiko especially. I was in a good position, and a part of me… A pretty big part of me, at that time, was convinced that she was your reincarnation or something to that effect. I mean, she was so much like you… Her sense of humor, her compassion, her nearly endless patience… Her looks, her quirks, her blush… Hell, even her _mannerisms_ were identical to you!

Anyway, after I'd been entertained by her and her sister at the teahouses for about a year, I sent a letter to her _Okaa-san_ requesting to see her privately at our usual teahouse. It had a beautiful garden, and I felt that it was the perfect place to ask Keiko something so important.

When she arrived that night, she was as beautiful as ever. Even though she'd grown out of being a _maiko_ a couple months prior to this meeting, she still wore the heavy makeup; it seemed like a sort of security blanket to some _geisha_. Keiko was really no exception. Somehow, it seemed that she had just sort of _known_ what was going to transpire that night, because, believe it or not, she wore the exact _kimono_ that I'd given her for her birthday. She looked absolutely beautiful in it…

Ahem. Sorry.

I asked to be her _danna_ that night.

She said yes. She cried a little – happy tears, remember, like you'd always told me. After that, she didn't wear that godawful makeup anymore, and she wore her hair down sometimes, even when we went out. The best part?

She was always on _my_ arm. She hardly ever went out to the teahouse without me. Mother Tanaka had already arranged to adopt Sakura as the sole inheritor of the _okiya_, so I moved Keiko out of the Tanaka _okiya_ and into her own studio apartment in Asakusa. She had a servant that did whatever she pleased, and, for a long while, things were real good.

It took me only a little while, though, to realize that she was a completely different person from you. While some of your quirks and mannerisms were the same, there were so many things that were different. They weren't exactly things that I can name, either; it was more like her _presence_ was different from yours, you know?

After I'd been her _danna _for three months, the time came that Rin mentioned earlier. There was only one sexual act between the two of us; afterward, it never came up again.

Her _mizuage_. Her "right-of-passage" of sorts.

As her _danna_, I held the right to request her virginity. Why not? I mean, in that day and age, a _danna_ was the closest thing that a _geisha_ could have to a boyfriend or husband. To Keiko, that was me.

It was a clear night when it happened. It wasn't exactly as ceremony-like as other _mizuages_ had been… But, then again, I'm not a ceremony kinda guy.

We were both nervous as hell. She stripped _very slowly_ in front of me, by the _tatami_ mat, and… Well, let's just say that I don't really remember much after that. Maybe… Maybe I don't _want_ to remember that much. Keiko was silent the entire time, and she seemed… Sorta _scared_, you know? And that wasn't what I wanted… Never. Never for you, never for her, never for _any_ woman.

Afterward, there was no more sexual tension, just… _general _tension, ya know? I felt as if I had _raped_ her or something.

But, after a few weeks, we got back into our normal swing of things, and we reverted, pretty much, back to being close friends like before. I did then what no other _danna_ had ever been heard of doing for his _geisha_ – I let her have a boyfriend, a romantic interest that wasn't me. Sesshomaru broke a vase, he was so pissed with me. And Rin – no matter how touched she was by my romantic sacrifice – was pretty pissed with me as well. It brought a lot of unwanted attention to our door, and I was the main subject of the local rumor mills for quite some time over it.

But none of that mattered when Keiko met Masaru; he was a good boy, the son of a priest at the Sunset Shrine. She was so happy; hell, the woman _glowed_ whenever she talked about him, and she always blushed that pretty blush whenever I asked her about him, about how he was doing, how _they_ were doing. It pleased me to no end that she was finally finding a little bit of love.

Then I found out his last name.

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A/N: Ok, I'm making this up from now on. There's an intermission that I wrote one day when I was bored… It's somewhere downstairs, but I'll hafta dig for a while to find it. It's a good one, too, and it'll provide a little sustenance for those flamers from Mediaminer…

On its way:

Chapter Seven: Family Secrets.

or…

Intermission: He Really Loved Her, You Know.


	7. Intermission: He Really Loved Her

A/N: So, here it is, the extremely long-awaited intermission! Yay! Grab a pillow and some popcorn, folks, and git comfy. This one's a long one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and co. Only Rumiko Takahashi does. Hellogoodbye is the owner of the wonderful song that is included in this chapter, "Two Weeks in Hawaii," and I don't make any money from any of the smutty smut Mcsmut smut. Haha.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Intermission: He Really Loved Her, You Know.

As the cars and trees and buildings passed the tinted windows of Inuyasha Taisho's black town car, barely blurred, he sighed, thinking back to earlier that morning. Rin had all but cornered him, he knew, but she'd had a very good reason for it. It was only two days since his birthday; Inuyasha honestly had no idea how old he was anymore, but his sister-in-law had a penchant for remembering everybody's birthday and giving them presents to celebrate the occasion.

Leaning back as he realized that the town car was pulling up to its destination, Inuyasha knew that it was more than possible that his sister had just given him the greatest birthday gift he could ever hope to receive.

His nephews obviously didn't understand the overwhelming significance of a single, short newspaper clipping, a simple birth announcement, but his nieces and their parents knew. The name was typed at the top of the clipping in clean, bold letters, slightly larger than the rest:

**KAGOME AYAKO HIGURASHI**

As the car slowed to a stop, Inuyasha mused, 'How funny. We have the same springtime birthday.'

You've got your airplane

And I've got the plain air of here,

You're gone

And I've gone insane.

Oh when will you reappear?

I'm just some new kid

Who can't get his mind off of you

And I know that it's stupid.

He decided to wait the extra time and let the driver shut off the engine and come around to open the door for him; Inuyasha used this time, however short it may be, to attempt at collecting his bearings. When the driver opened his door with a quiet "_pop_!" and the hanyou slid out of the backseat, his stomach churned uncomfortably and butterflies ran rampant in his chest.

After waiting literally _centuries_ for this day, Inuyasha wasn't quite sure that he was ready for it.

'Cause you've got Hawaii

And I've gotten no letters from you.

I should stop whining

'Cause it's only been a day or two…

I don't know what you did

But you got me to fall for you.

I know that it's stupid.

It was a long walk up the familiar, steep steps of the Sunset Shrine; a strong wave of nostalgia flooded Inuyasha's senses as he passed underneath the large, red _torii_, spying the small family house quite easily. As he approached the front door of the meager abode he remember so vividly, Inuyasha also spotted the simple shack of a well house at the back of the property. With hands stuffed deep into his slack's pockets, he turned slightly; the Goshinboku was not that far from where he stood, either.

He stood here, in this startlingly familiar place, and Inuyasha felt so… _at home_. Even at the Western Palace with Rin, Fluffy, and their pups, he'd never felt this much at peace.

This Higurashis were his saviors and his damnation.

Your family's rad and I

Wish that they were here today,

But they're thousands and thousand

Of miles away.

I felt so bad when your mom

Caught us eating ice cream in

Your room at three in the morning…

A single image filled Inuyasha's head right then, forcing him to pause, his closed fist raised and ready to knock on the Higurashis' front door. His hand dropped to his side, and he turned around slowly, holding his breath.

It was like yesterday. There she stood, on a stone walkway that had yet to be paved. Snow was gathered everywhere on the ground and grass, and it was falling on her and around her. 'What a sight for sore eyes,' he thought, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

He didn't care that she wasn't really standing there; all he could focus on was the growing feeling of pride and happiness in his chest at the sight of her big, bright smile, the sound of her happy laughter. Her warm eyes sparkled as she stood there, on the walkway, wearing the rarely seen white tennis shoes instead of the black loafers; the skinny blue jeans instead of the green, pleated miniskirt that had become her trademark in his mind's eye; the red baby tee and her puffy, pink jacket with the faux white feathers lining the puffy hood. The hood was down, hung stiffly between her shoulderblades. Snow was collecting in her long, wavy hair, white breaking up the black.

She stopped, her feet digging neat, little holes in the thick snow. She twisted her torso around lithely, grinning excitedly at him over her shoulder. "Come on, Inuyasha!" she called out to him. "The snow won't kill ya!"

Her comment made him turn a little red; he stuffed his hand into his pockets and answered gruffly, "Keh! I know that, woman!"

Suddenly, there was a slight cracking noise behind him; the walkway, the snow, and the bright, silly girl in the pink jacket all disappeared, and Inuyasha whirled around to come face to face with a pretty young woman that he barely recognized.

'Cause I'd hate for her

To not want me around her daughter

'Cause my heart stops

Every time…

She was very familiar to him, Mrs. Higurashi, and Inuyasha faintly realized that he'd actually missed her quite a bit. She'd been very close to a second mother to him, always reminding him of his own _haha_ with her sweet, motherly ways.

Mrs. Higurashi was very surprised to find this tall, black-haired, violet-eyed young man in a grey suit standing on her front doorstep, he knew; her mahogany eyes were wide, and she politely cleared her throat before greeting him with a nice, "_Konnichiwa_, sir. I am Higurashi Saiyuri, lady of the house. To what do I owe this honor?"

Inuyasha took in a deep breath. "_Konnichiwa_, Higurashi-sama. I am an old friend of your honored husband's. I just wished to drop by and give Sachi-san my congratulations and your new daughter my blessings. My name is Taisho Inuyasha."

Her eyes widened at the name; Sachi had obviously mentioned him before. "Of course, Inuyasha-sama," the housewife said in a quiet voice, bowing very politely at the waist before stepping out of the doorway. Inuyasha bowed back before entering the domicile.

You've got Polaroid

And you even know how to rhyme.

I'd be overjoyed

If we could just hang out sometime

I don't know what you did,

But you got me to fall for you

And I know that it's stupid.

Inuyasha wasn't sure he could believe his eyes; the inside of the place was exactly the same as he remembered it – which would be about fifteen years in the future. The only difference he could spot had to be the mostly bare walls; in fifteen years, Inuyasha knew, the walls would be lined with framed photo after framed photo.

The hanyou sniffed a little. "Where is my old friend Sachi?" he asked Mrs. Higurashi. He looked around at the room a moment before letting his violet eyes settle on her. The woman blinked at him before answering, "Away on business, I'm afraid. He won't be back for another couple of days."

Inuyasha was puzzled by this. "He couldn't get out of it?"

But you know that I try…

Mrs. Higurashi shook her head, smiling gently at Inuyasha. "You know how things work in the business world, Inuyasha-sama. He assured me that he would only be gone for a week; besides, his father very honorably stayed here with me, taking care of me at the end of my pregnancy."

Inuyasha smirked when she mentioned her father-in-law; it was strange to know that he'd actually missed the old kook too. "Speaking of Sachi's _chichi_, how is the crazy old man?"

The woman laughed lightly, covering her mouth with her hand in an effort to be more respectful. "Oh, Inuyasha-sama!" As her chuckling subsided, she answered, still smiling, "He's still somewhat miffed at Sachi for becoming a businessman instead of a priest. He's always going on about the 'generations of Higurashi men who have been priests!'" Mrs. Higurashi dropped her hand right then, revealing that bright smile that Inuyasha hadn't seen in centuries. He couldn't help but smile back.

Mrs. Higurashi started on toward the staircase; chatting on about her father-in-law's hilarious exploits and half-crazed rants, she led him up the stairs and down the hall to a door that he only knew so well. Inuyasha had to take a moment to curb the impulse to knock, as he had grown accustomed to doing when he was great deal younger. Instead, he waited patiently while Mrs. Higurashi, who was still smiling, quietly turned the brass doorknob and pushed open the door.

The hanyou sighed contentedly when he saw that the entire nursery was done in salmons and whites. 'Not exactly what I remember, obviously,' he thought, following the new mother into the room, 'but at least it's her favorite color.' There was a pink and white lace bassinet in the far corner of the room; the cherry wood crib was where the twin bed was supposed to be in the future. The Higurashis had set up a nice, cherry wood changing table against the far wall, beside the window. A number of toys and stuffed animals littered the floor and the crib; a majority of the dolls and teddy bears were collected in the corner directly to Inuyasha's left, just inside the door.

With wide, violet eyes focused eagerly on the pink bassinet, Inuyasha stepped forward.

Your drawing's rad and I

Put it on my wall and I

Made sure it wouldn't fall

'Cause if it did…

She was beautiful; that was all Inuyasha could think, and he was even more amazed when Mrs. Higurashi offered to let him hold her.

So there he sat, in the Higurashis' family room downstairs, on the comfy loveseat, cherishing the tiny, gurgling _otome_ in his arms. He could hear Mrs. Higurashi bustling about in the kitchen, doing dishes and preparing the table and counter for dinner.

Inuyasha stroked the baby's soft cheek; she yawned, grasped a lock of his long, midnight hair in her tiny, chubby fist. The inuhanyou bit back a chuckle as tears – _happy_ tears – welled up in his eyes. He leaned his head down, his nose meeting the top of her head, and he took a deep breath, thanking the Kamis that the concealment spell never took from him his keen sense of smell.

The _otome_ smelled absolutely wonderful. 'Not quite like flowers yet,' he mused, sitting back in the seat and smiling, 'but we'll get there.'

After what only seemed to Inuyasha to be a few more seconds, Mrs. Higurashi came in the room and politely asked him to stay for dinner. Respectfully, he declined; reluctantly, he handed the _otome_ back to Mrs. Higurashi, who went to put her back in the bassinet before seeing her guest to the door.

As Inuyasha got into the town car that was waiting for him at the street and pulled away from the Sunset Shrine, he couldn't stop thinking about Kagome.

Still wondering how that sweet, small child turned into the beautiful, strong, good _onna_ he had mated, Inuyasha sighed. "If you want a life without me, Kagome," he said to empty air, "then I'll give it to you. No matter how hard it is for me to let you go, I _promise_ that I'll give you what you want."

My straw wrapper might tear

And there would be no knot and I

Would feel like I'd been shot

Right through the heart.

And I'd fall

Apart but I'd remember how

My heart stops

Every time…

He'd read about it in the paper; he asked Rin to cut out the clipping for him. At the end of that horrible, horrible day, Inuyasha had put that clipping alongside the one he already kept hidden in his secret chest Sesshomaru had given him. Smiling faintly as he read over the wrinkled birth announcement once more, his expression quickly turned grim once his eyes caught the large, alarmingly bold words of the other clipping's headline: **NO SURVIVORS IN CRASH NEAR OSAKA**

It was inevitable, he knew; Kagome had told him more than once that her honored father had passed away when his plane crashed near Osaka; he'd been coming home from yet another of his business trips. Sachi's daughter was only three, and his son Souta had just been born.

Inuyasha shook his head as he continued to think on the crash later that night. Somehow, in the past few centuries, he'd gotten a bit rusty at climbing trees; nevertheless, he still managed to successfully scale the large oak tree right outside little Kagome's bedroom window.

The next morning, he watched from afar as the grieving toddler found the stuffed white dog named Sachi on her windowsill. She smiled happily and crushed it to her in a loving hug; Inuyasha smiled and walked away.

You are so special

I just hope that we can be friends.

I'll wait forever,

But I guess that it all depends

On you and yours,

So come on and dance with me

'Cause you are so special…

He blinked as he smiled, watching from deep inside the forest as Kagome, now a tall, gorgeous sixteen year old girl, tried to lug her ridiculously enormous yellow bag across the courtyard to the well house. The thing was filled right to the brim with food, clothes, and first aid equipment.

"Hurry it up, will ya!" he heard his younger self chide the girl; Inuyasha's smile disappeared, and he rolled his eyes at himself. "Help her with the damned bag, you ass," he whispered at the scene, sighing and shaking his head at his own youthful arrogance.

Right then, he saw himself zip forward, dressed in his old, red fire-rat, and swing the gigantic bag onto his back. "Here," the younger hanyou said, wrapping an arm around Kagome and disappearing into the well house. The small shack filled with the familiar, ominous purple light as Inuyasha entered the small courtyard behind the Higurashis' home. Mrs. Higurashi stood in the back doorway, smiling and drying off a dish with a towel.

"Well, hello, son-in-law," she greeted the aged hanyou.

Hands stuffed deep in his jeans pockets, Inuyasha smiled meekly. Rubbing the back of his head, he let his concealment drop, murmuring, "Keh," sheepishly. His black hair slowly turned silver; his violet eyes lightened until they were their usual, bright amber. His fangs reappeared, and his white _koinu_ ears popped suddenly out of his thick hair. He chuckled at Mrs. Higurashi's surprised face. "I always did wonder why you always said that Kagome and I would be together. You already knew, didn't you?"

The woman gave him and secret smile and just kept drying; she turned and went back inside. Inuyasha took one last look at the well house before disappearing as a blur into the bustling streets of Tokyo.

I hope that this makes you smile

And you might stay that way for a while

'Cause you deserve every grin that you get

And you'll get 'em a lot from me,

Uh ho, uh ho!

"Look here, Kagome! You ain't goin' nowhere without me! For the next nine fuckin' months, you an' me'll be joined at the fuckin' hip!"

"Inuyasha! You are such a jerk! I need to go back and let Mama, Souta, and Grampa know by myself." She sighed as she continued walking. "I'll only be gone for the afternoon; I'll even pick up some Ramen for you."

"I'll go _with_ you -!"

"No, you won't."

"_Yes_, I will!"

"_No_, you _won't_!"

The young hanyou growled. "Dammit, wench! Shut your fuckin' trap and lemme go with you!"

"Oh, yea, Inuyasha, that's really persuade me! Curse at me and call me a wench!"

"Well, would you prefer bitch?"

The resulting slap echoed through the vast forest. Back in the village, Shippo was lounging with Miroku, while Sango was nearby, talking to a village woman. The two males' heads jerked up at the sound of the slap, which resonated from the center of the forest, close to the Bone Eater's Well.

"Wow," Shippo said quietly, struck somewhat in awe. He looked up at Miroku, who was staring, violet eyes wide, into the dark woods surrounding the village. "I've never even heard Sango slap _you_ that hard."

"And I've never heard or seen Kagome slap Inuyasha at all," Miroku commented, thoroughly puzzled by the turn of events.

Shippo jumped to his feet. "Yea! She usually sits him. That must mean he said something _really_ bad, huh?"

Miroku blinked. "I don't know, Shippo. Inuyasha has said some pretty brutal things to Kagome before, and she's never reacted so strongly as to slap him."

"Maybe it has something to do with her funny scent…" Shippo pondered, watching the monk.

"What funny scent?"

"Kagome's been smelling kinda strange lately…"

Miroku suddenly started chuckling. "That explains it," he murmured, shaking his head. "Inuyasha's spiking need to protect her; Kagome's sudden mood swings and sickness in the mornings… It all makes sense now." He sat back, obviously pleased with himself. "Kagome is pregnant."

Back in the forest, Inuyasha was standing close to the well; he and Kagome stared at one another, both appalled at themselves for their actions.

"I'm sorry –" Kagome started, looking away, but her mate grabbed her shoulders.

"No! Stop that!" He crushed her to him in a heartbreaking embrace.

"Why can't you for once treat me like you'll never see me again?" she whispered.

Inuyasha pulled back to look at her. "But I am," he murmured, watching her closely. "You really think that if you were leaving me for good that I would be _nice_ about it? That I would just cherish what little time if left and then… I would just _let you go_?" He pulled her closer again. "Fuck no! I would fight like hell to keep you here. With me."

They were silent for a minute; then Shippo came bursting through the foliage. "Inuyasha, Inuyasha! Come quickly! The village is being attacked again! Please! Come help!" The hanyou whirled around, facing Kagome again. "Go through the well without me," he told her firmly.

She gave him a horrified look. "No! I'm not leaving you to do this alone! I can go later!"

Inuyasha growled at her again, trying his hardest to make her submit. "Dammit, Kagome! That's _my_ pup in there, and I'll be _damned_ if you lose it in some stupid fight!"

"But, Inuyasha –!"

"No but's, dammit, woman! Get to your mother's; it's safer there. Get everything you need and do what you gottta do. I'll come get you when it's all clear." Before she turned away, he grabbed both sides of her face and pulled her into a passionate, lingering kiss. Then he and Shippo took off into the forest to help Miroku and Sango dispatch the attacking _youkai_ and save the village.

For a few moments longer, Kagome stood in the clearing, staring at the well. Her mind was already made up, but she hated to make Inuyasha angry. Yanking her bow off her bag and setting it with an arrow, she ran into the forest, hurrying in the direction of the village. She made it there after only a few minutes of running – and she arrived right in the middle of the complete chaos. Most of the villagers were nowhere to be found; she knew that they must have hidden themselves away somewhere. Countless villagers – men, women, and children alike – lay, dead, on the ground, their bodies being torn and ravaged and eaten by the lesser demons.

Taking a deep breath, she strung the arrow tight, taking aim at the nearest group of _youkai_. Her body lit up with its usual pink light as she charged the arrow with her intense spiritual energy. Somehow, ever since she'd gotten pregnant, her powers had grown drastically in strength and intensity. She released the spiritually charged weapon; it struck its mark perfectly, disintegrating them instantly. "Yes!" she cried out, pumping her fist in the air in victory.

"Kagome!"

Hearing Inuyasha's desperate, almost terrified call, Kagome whipped around – only to be thrown backwards by a large rat _youkai_. Her back collided with the dirt hard, and the _youkai_ snarled in her face before its giant paw slammed down roughly on her leg. The pain was excruciating, and Kagome bit out a shrill scream.

"Kaze no Kizu!"

The rat shrieked loudly, turning to face Inuyasha instead. As the fight raged on, Kagome dragged herself away from the scene, hiding in the thick underbrush of the forest. After the rat _youkai_ was dead, her hanyou mate found her again. He swooped down, gathering her up in his arms and running at full speed through the woods with her. Once they reached the clearing, Inuyasha set her down gently on her own feet.

"How's your leg?" he asked her quietly.

"It's okay," she mumbled, rubbing it.

"Good. Now go to your damn mother's house, you stubborn fucking bitch!" he yelled, thoroughly pissed off.

"But, Inuyasha, I wanna help -!"

"_No_, goddammit! Just go home! Just fucking _go home_! I don't need your fucking help! I can fight my own fucking battles without you! Get the _fuck_ outta here!"

Unexpected tears welled up in the Miko's eyes, and she pushed her mate away. He stumbled backward, staring, open-mouthed and startled, at her. She glowered at Inuyasha; sitting on the side of the well and swinging her legs over, she murmured, still glaring at him, "Goodbye, Inuyasha." She jumped in, the purple light sending her home, and Inuyasha hurried back to the village to finish the fight, completely unaware that Kagome wouldn't be returning to the Sengoku Jidai.

You are so special

I just hope that we can be friends.

I'll wait forever,

But I guess that it all depends

Mrs. Higurashi was beside herself; she honestly didn't have the faintest idea what to do in this situation. Her daughter had just returned home from the Sengoku Jidai two weeks before; the girl was in tears, and Kagome had relayed the entire story to her mother at they sat at the kitchen table. Mrs. Higurashi had somehow managed to stay calm throughout the entire ordeal that night; on the inside, though, she'd been jumping for joy at the thought of having a _koinu_-eared grandchild.

Now, here they sat, at the doctor's office only two weeks after receiving this wonderful news; the well had been closed when Kagome tried to go back the next morning. She'd been completely heartbroken, her mother knew, and now they were receiving more bad news from their family physician. In a calm, regretful tone, he informed them of the babe's passing; Kagome had miscarried, probably due to stress, the doctor said.

They left the doctor's office in silence. Mrs. Higurashi sighed heavily as they both came in through the front door of their home; she remembered briefly that that was the very first place she'd ever met her son-in-law, Inuyasha.

As they had been leaving the doctor's office, Kagome had gone to use the restroom; her mother had seized that opportunity to speak with the doctor and tell him to inform the father, one Inuyasha Taisho, of the miscarriage.

Mrs. Higurashi knew that right then, as an emotionally exhausted Kagome trudged slowly up the stairs of their small home, somewhere in Tokyo, Inuyasha was receiving the worst phone call of his life.

On you and yours,

So come on and dance with me

'Cause you are so special.

Kagome slammed the front door shut in her husband's face instead of holding it open for him. A string of curses fluttered through the large foyer as Inuyasha opened the front door himself and practically chased after the Miko-turned-housewife. "Hey! Where are you going?" he demanded, following her into the master bedroom; she was busy throwing clothes into an overnight bag stretched out on the bed. Barely turning her head to throw him a vehement glare, she growled, "Back to my mother's. I need to deal with some of this."

"Why can't you jus' deal with it here?"

"I don't wanna deal with it here, Inuyasha! _You're_ here!"

"And what the fuck is _that_ s'posed to mean?"

"What do you think it means? I don't wanna deal with you while I deal with _this_!"

"What the _fuck_ are you dealing with?"

"This! _You_! Your whole story! While we were apart, you fell in love with someone else!"

"Well, doesn't it help me that she could've been your goddamned _twin_?"

She let out a strangled, enraged scream. "No, it does _not_! Where were you when _I_ needed you, huh? Where were you when I realized that I couldn't get through the well? When I realized that I couldn't get _back_ to you? Huh? Where the _fuck_ were _you_ when I lost our baby, huh? Were you moping around feeling sorry for yourself, or were you busy getting your rocks off to Keiko?!"

"Now, now, Kagome," a new voice said from the doorway. Surprised, Inuyasha and Kagome whirled to face the newcomer. A tall, lean male with fiery, red hair pulled back into a fluffy ponytail stood in the bedroom doorway next to a curvy woman of average height. She had grey eyes and short, ebony hair cut in a mod-fashion bob, and she wore a pair of dark, skinny blue jeans, a pair of mid-calf, tan boots, and a light blue short-sleeve t-shirt. The male wore lighter, more worn blue jeans, a pair of white sneakers, and a loose black tee. He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking and looking over the startled pair of mates with bright green eyes.

Inuyasha sighed in relief, closing his eyes. "Boy, you nearly gave me a fuckin' heart attack! I hate when you use those damned, old school tricks to fuck with me!"

The red-haired male snickered; the woman seemed amused. "Well, _chichi_, I _am_ a _kitsune_, after all; old school tricks are my specialty."

Right then, they all heard a sharp, surprised gasp. It was the woman. "Oh my Kamis," she murmured. "She looks exactly like Keiko!" She looked the male right in the eye. "You weren't kidding."

Inuyasha groaned. "Ko, meet my mate, Kagome. Kagome, meet your beloved, little runt Shippo, all grown up, and his sometimes obnoxious mate Ko." Glancing sideways at their guests, he went on, "Ko was better known in the Edo period as Tanaka Sakura."

And my heart stops every time…

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A/N: Wow, this took me forever!!!! I am so glad that it's out now; I tried REALLY hard not to give anything away.

Stay tuned:

Chapter Seven: Family Secrets.


	8. Family Secrets

A/N: Ok, I've been trying to work out all of the kinks for this next chapter. I'm introducing this semi-new character, and I know that a lot of you are wondering why I leaked that little bit about there being a problem between Inuyasha and Keiko's new beau, but this stuff with Sakura (or Ko, as her real name is) needs to come out first. She'll offer up a ton of insight into the whole relationship between Keiko and Inuyasha, and it helps to salvage the relationship between Kagome and Inuyasha.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co, nor do I get paid for this soft-core porn.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Eight: Family Secrets.

Ko brushed the hair from her eyes as Kagome took another sip of her dry martini. She'd never drunk so much before, but she felt pretty shitty tonight; it only seemed fitting that she drink and drink and drink until she couldn't stand up anymore. Shippo had agreed to keep Inuyasha occupied at the house while Ko attempted to cheer up Kagome. So far, the kitsune's mate was failing miserably.

"Look at it this way," she tried once again to bring Kagome out of the slumps, "he's with you now, not my sister."

"But he _was_ with her, at one time!" the former priestess huffed. Her head fell into her hands, and she groaned. "How could he do this to me? I mean, it wasn't my fault that the well closed. How could he…" She sighed, stopping what could possibly amount to some very hateful words. "He knew that the well would close. I mean… how could he have possibly thought that I would abort the baby?"

Ko sighed, losing her patience at last and leaning back in the chair. "Ah, quit your whining, girl."

Kagome blinked at the stranger in surprise at her gruff tone. "I'm not whining -"

"Oh, come now, Kagome," Ko chided, holding a finger up to stop her. "You are too, and you know it. You've been whining for quite some time this evening.

"Now, I've known Inuyasha for a great deal of time, though I'm sure I still don't know him nearly as well as you do. That's a very secretive man that you've gone and gotten yourself married to, and he can be pretty brash and insensitive at times. But he's good nonetheless. He's been through lots more than you were around to see, from what I hear."

Kagome snorted. "Really."

There was a loud "_clink_!" as Ko's glass once again met the wooden surface of the bar. She glared at the girl to her left. "Really."

Kagome sighed and slumped down into her chair more and more, hoping to disappear into it. Ko smirked at her, taking another, much calmer sip from her glass. "Look," the older human said, "I didn't mean to go all Mother-May-I on you. I've just been pretty protective of that man ever since…" She stopped suddenly, her faint smile fading and replaced with a stern, sad look. She chugged the last of her drink suddenly and raised a hand, signaling for another. As the bartender busied himself with making her drink, Ko turned back to look at Kagome, who met her gaze with widened eyes.

"Wow," the former Miko murmured. "You must've had a pretty bad century, too."

Ko shrugged. "Not really. I've just done some bad things."

Kagome's face scrunched somewhat, obviously intrigued by what her companion was saying. The bartender silently slid the refilled glass of brandy down the bar; Ko caught it in her hand expertly before bringing it to her lips and taking a gulp.

"I'm going to tell you a part of this story that no one else can tell you from the right point of view," she said in a low voice. "There were many players in this part, but only I can tell you _everything_."

Kagome simply nodded, speechless.

Ko sighed, taking one more sip to help her brace herself for what was to come:

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The first time he approached me, I was very nervous, though I hid it well, he told me later. He was magnificent, a real god; in my naïve eyes, he was nothing less than perfect.

I didn't care that he was married. He asked me to his bed that day, and I failed to say no.

Rin had taken Aiko and the younger girls with her to stay in Paris for about a week. While they were gone, the full moon struck without Rin's knowledge; Inuyasha and Sesshomaru began to suffer from a brief form of their _youkai_ heat during her absence. I watched day after day as Inuyasha threatened to tear himself in two; however, he managed not to betray you or my sister. He loved you still, even when you were _decades_ from existing, and he loved my sister, though he knew she didn't love him back.

Sesshomaru, however, was not as good at coping with his lust as his younger brother. His mate was gone for the duration of the heat; she couldn't occupy him as she normally did. He honestly wasn't used to being without her, I think. Shippo once told me that, in all the centuries he'd known them since they were mated, he couldn't remember a single time when Sesshomaru was without Rin. She was _always_ there for him, _always_ there to take care of him, _always _there to receive the brunt of his heat.

_Okaa-san_ was very surprised when she opened the front door of the _okiya_ that fateful morning. There he stood, the demi-god himself, wearing a fine, expensive-looking suit. He somehow managed to keep his expression amazingly serene, but I could just _sense_ the tension rolling off him; he wasn't angry, but there was obviously something wrong. Every other time my sister and I had spent time with the Taisho family, it was always the same – Inuyasha went back and forth between the doting uncle and the jokester, Rin was the cute, sweet one, and Sesshomaru-sama was the quiet, grumpy one who sat in the back. The only one to ever _really_ interact with him in public was Rin; Inuyasha and Sesshomaru may have been closer than ever, but they still weren't _that_ close.

I knew he was married; hell, even _Okaa-san_ knew that Sesshomaru Taisho had a little lady waiting at home.

He said that he would only be paying for company. He didn't say much, really; I left with him, knowing from the strange, tense feeling in my gut that I wouldn't be there for "just entertainment."

Maybe, technically, that's what I was.

We barely made it into the foyer of the Western place before he pounced. And, yes, I _do_ mean _pounce_. He grabbed me and practically dragged me up the stairs and down some corridors until we made it to what was obviously the master bedroom; there, he proceeded to pretty much rip my kimono to shreds, and, despite my protests, he threw me onto the bed and… began.

It was rough, it was brutal, and it seemed to go on _forever_. I'm still not entirely sure how I endured it, being thrown into it like I was; now, with Shippo, it's _much_ easier. He's not as… _ravenous_ as Sesshomaru was.

I spent the entire week there. I missed _countless_ appointments… _Okaa-san_ was insanely upset with me when I finally returned to the _okiya_.

My last day at the Western House, Rin arrived home with the _otomes_. Inuyasha had left his Tokyo apartment to run to the airport and pick them up, and he rode with them back to the House.

I'm not sure that I'll ever forget the look on their faces when they walked in the front door and saw me bowing at the waist to Sesshomaru and shuffling down the stairs in a brand new kimono he had bought me as part of my "payment."

Inuyasha once told me afterward that he'd never seen Rin so angry in all his life. I had to agree; she was normally a very bright, spunky woman with a good, carefree nature.

But she knew _instantly_ what was going on, and I swear your husband's jaw about hit the polished floor!

Angry words were exchanged, and, of course, being the dumb girl that I am, I smarted off to the petite Lady of the West, thinking, Oh, she can't do anything to me, I have to deal with bitchy, hardcore _geisha_ all day and night. Fists flew, and hers met my cheek in a very masculine way. I had to give her that; Rin knew just how to smack a bitch, as the term goes nowadays.

Inuyasha instantly attempted to break up the catfight, but he was quickly overwhelmed when Aiko joined in. She growled at me and popped me so hard across the face that I thought my head was going to explode. It was a huge mess; Inuyasha was practically screaming at Sesshomaru for help, but he just stood there, at the top of the stairs, watching with that cool aloofness of his. Finally, Shippo walked in the front door, saw the fastly worsening situation, and dove right into the fray, quite possibly saving me from a broken face and a bruised ass. He helped me up while Inuyasha pulled Aiko and Rin away; while Aiko was still yelling obscenities at me from around Inuyasha, Rin stormed right up those stairs and let Sesshomaru have it.

Those two disappeared into the rest of the house, but we could still hear Rin screaming at Sesshomaru. Aiko, in tears by that point, ran off into the back of the home, Inuyasha hot at her heels after shooting me one of the most murderous looks ever.

Shippo looked at me sheepishly. "Heh. Hi there."

I flushed a deep pink. "Hi. I'm Sakura."

"Shippo." He smiled, and I smiled shyly back. I stuck my hand out to him. "It's nice to meet you, Shippo," I told him, and he shook my extended hand.

He led me outside, into the front, and he walked me all the way back to Asakusa, back to my _okiya_. Such a sweet boy you and Inuyasha raised…

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"Oh, I was sweet, was I?"

Ko turned, quite pleased to see her mate and husband standing there behind her, grinning at her ruefully. Kagome rolled her eyes, slipping off the barstool and disappearing into the crowd. As Shippo came forward, gathering his tipsy mate in his arms, Ko watched Kagome over his shoulder as she somehow got herself lost on the dance floor.

She was about the push away from Shippo to go get the other woman when she saw a well-built, silver-haired male come up behind Kagome, taking her hips in his large hands and swaying with her petite body to the music. Satisfied, Ko leaned into her mate's warm, gentle embrace.

"Oi, runt! Where'd you let my wife run off to?"

Ko stiffened suddenly when she heard Inuyasha's voice right beside them. Shippo released Ko and turned to his right, astounded when he realized that the barstool beside them was now empty. "Bu-But, Inuyasha-"

"I thought that was you she was dancing with, Yash," Ko told him mournfully as she raised her hand and pointed into the crowd. The two men turned and saw what she was looking at. Their eyes widened comically – but it was a very serious matter.

"Hakudoshi?!"


	9. A Lover's Betrayal Never Tasted Sweeter

A/N: Thanks to all who nominated "Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips" for Best Melodrama! It probably won't since it's up against "Of Strings and Kevlar" and "Murder Games," but at least it was nominated!

Warning: Implied non-consensual in this chapter, explicit sex, and some domestic violence.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Nine: A Lover's Betrayal Never Tasted Sweeter.

"I can't believe that you nearly tore that guy's head off!"

"Well, he shouldn't have been trying to dance with my woman!"

"And why the hell did you call him 'Hakudoshi'?" Kagome wanted to know as they entered the master bedroom. She was trying to keep her tone low and calm, since they had invited Shippo and Ko to stay in one of the extra bedrooms downstairs. "Hakudoshi died with Naraku five centuries ago, didn't he?"

"Keh," came Inuyasha's grunted reply, and Kagome rolled her eyes. "Shippo and I ain't too sure sometimes."

"Whatever. You just wanted an excuse to assert your manly authority over me." Kagome's tone dripped with sarcasm and disdain, but Inuyasha didn't catch it. He snarled at her gently, glaring at her back. _A'course I did_, he thought before striding across the room and grabbing her by the arm.

She let out an outraged and confused gasp as he spun her around to face him, and her face was already turning red in indignation. "Inuyasha, you ass! Lemme-" Kagome stopped with a loud squeak when Inuyasha slammed her petite body into his hard, muscular chest. Her breathing soon became hard and laborious as he slid his hand underneath her button-down blouse, and both relished the warm feeling of skin on skin.

"Inuyasha-" Kagome tried to murmur, but her breath caught once again as his hand rose up her body, his fingers finding their way past her bra and capturing her plump, sensitive nipple. He gave it a hard tweak, and his wife's knees became jelly with a loud cry; Inuyasha threw his arm around her back quickly, to hold her up.

Suddenly, because of his pause in his ministrations, Kagome's head cleared just a bit, and her brown eyes narrowed at her hanyou husband. "You jerk!" she cried out, yanking herself out of his reach and slapping him fully across the face.

Inuyasha's head snapped to one side, and he just stood there, dumbfounded by the turn of events. _We had her_…

Kagome blinked as her husband slowly turned his head to look at her. Golden eyes flashed red, and a tiny twinge of fear the former Miko in the pit of her stomach. "Inuyasha…"

A growl reverberated from deep within his throat, and it reached his mouth after only a minute, suddenly transforming into an angry snarl. He gripped her shoulders and shoved her clumsily back, eliciting a surprised cry from Kagome when her head met the hard, unforgiving wall.

"Inuyasha, stop!" she cried out, to no avail. Inuyasha sniffed lightly along his mate's jawline and collarbone, and he gave her a toothy grin when her scent became heady with her arousal.

"Mate must know place," he murmured in her ear, his breath warm against her cheek, and Kagome felt her pelvis catch fire. She groaned as his hands left her arms, and his fingers slid into the slit in the fabric, careful of the buttons. With one good, hard yank, Inuyasha ripped the fabric apart, the buttons popping off and flying into oblivion. Kagome's eyes widened as she just became more turned on; that was the single most enticing act she had ever seen.

Suddenly, she gasped as Inuyasha, in his demon haze, turned his attention to her breasts, still encased in the soft, nylon bra. With a quick and precise flick of his wrist, his claw severed the fabric between her globes, and the offending bra fell away, revealing his prize. Careful of his claws, his fingertips squeezed and pinched the gorgeous nipple, and Kagome threw her head back wantonly and let out a throaty moan.

Inuyasha growled and threw himself forward, his lips resting at the base of her throat. As if by his command, she stilled beneath his touch, and he scraped a fang against her tender skin in approval. "Mate must beg," he mumbled as he grasped her hips firmly in his hands and threw her onto the bed nearby. She let out a surprised, very Kagome-like squeal as he leaped onto the bed with her, pinning her beneath him.

Her chest heaved as he worked off her accursed jeans and panties; once they were gone, Inuyasha dove for his treasure, his face disappearing behind Kagome's black curls. She let out a loud grunt, and Inuyasha's demon sizzled beneath his skin, excited by the extremely unfeminine noises emitting from his mate.

His tongue flicked out tentatively, stroking her clit with the hot, wet appendage. Kagome's hips bucked unconsciously into her husband's face, and Inuyasha growled at her gently. "Beg, mate," he murmured, his eyes flashing between gold and red.

When she didn't answer, he reached up and grasped her hips roughly, digging his claws into her soft flesh; Kagome squirmed a little, surprised by her mate's attitude. Normally, Inuyasha was much gentler with her… _Apparently his demon has no shame in making me wonder whether it's the pleasure I like… or the pain_. Kagome hissed as his hands shifted, moving along her bare, marked up hips.

He hissed back, pulling himself up along her body, covering it with his own. He blinked furiously as he captured her plump lips with his own, and when he opened his eyes to watch her for a moment, they were a clear, solid amber once more.

Kagome and Inuyasha worked together to free him on his tee, undershirt, blue jeans and boxers; once the two of them were both completely nude, Inuyasha kneeled onto the bed and picked his mate up by her hips. He settled her gently against the same wall that his beast had just ravaged her against, and Inuyasha reached down, his hand working its way between her legs, and thumbed her clit.

She gasped and moaned as he worked his magic on her nub with one hand, using his thumb to pressure the tiny piece of flesh and two fingers to slide inside her wet entrance. Inuyasha's other hand reached up and found her pert nipple; he pinched it lightly, and Kagome's brown eyes disappeared into the back of her head. Unconsciously, she tilted her head back slightly, caught up in the moment and not realizing that she was submitting to him and his demon side. His eyes flashed red once more, and Inuyasha couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and sinking his momentarily elongated fangs into the crook of her throat.

Kagome gasped, her head instinctually snapping forward, and Inuyasha growled at himself and pulled away from her throat. Catching her eyes, he ran his tongue along the base of her neck and shoulder, lapping up the thing rivers of blood with ease.

He removed his hand from between her legs and urged them wider apart. Kagome complied, and he pushed her against the wall, sliding her upward by her back. Inuyasha cupped her ass cheeks firmly in his hands, and he smirked up at her as he balanced her expertly with one hand, using the other to reach down and ready his rock-hard cock at the beginning of her smoldering pussy.

With a slow, tentative thrust forward, Inuyasha entered his mate and wife; their eyes met in a torrent of fireworks that erupted from their individual loins and surged upward and together. As he pushed into her all the way to the hilt, Kagome gasped and trembled against him; she reached up, gathering fistfuls of his thick hair in her fingers. The hair knotted in her hands as she clenched her hands into fists and squeezed her eyes shut, the burning gaining intensity, the pressure building.

Holding her hips and ass carefully, Inuyasha continued to pump into her, every now and then leaning down and catching a perky nipple in his teeth and giving it a good suckle. It excited him more to hear Kagome's surprised groans and her breathy curses of his mouth. After he released her nipple, the hanyou leaned forward, pressing his lips against her sternum. Then he rested his forehead against her neck. Kagome could feel his hot, erratic breath against her sticky skin as he continued to thrust, whispering,

"I just can't get enough of you and your fiery cunt, woman."

His words were dirty, as dirty as Inuyasha could ever hope to be. He was a callous, arrogant, ill-mannered male – and, in this case at least, it worked for him.

The pressure reached its breaking point right then, and Kagome's entire body tensed suddenly and lit up with her climax. Her back arched expertly off the wall, her breasts shoved into Inuyasha's firm chest, and she let out a howl of ecstasy that was probably heard in Kyoto. Inuyasha joined barely a second after, grunting his own release.

Kagome's breathing slowed quickly, and Inuyasha, coming down from the high of his orgasm, listened as calmly as he could to her steadying heartbeat. When he pulled back, he smirked widely upon finding her falling fast asleep, obviously all tuckered out by the night's events.

Carefully, he pulled the both of them away from the wall and set her gently on the king size bed. Inuyasha climbed in beside her and pulled the thick, warm comforter over the both of them. In her unconscious state, Kagome smiled and rolled over, snuggling into his shoulder. Inuyasha grinned a foolish grin and put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her closer to him.

He kissed his mate's forehead before embarking upon the journey to dreamland himself. _I love make up sex with you, Kagome_.

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A/N: Hope this was a satisfactory lemon for you both! I promised Shannah (Kirarakat56) that I'd have both this chappie and Chapter Ten of One Night out tonight, but I so tired. Gonna go sleepy. Night night. :)

Next Time:

Chapter Ten: And Violet Eyes Will Grow Wider.


	10. And Violet Eyes Will Grow Wider

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Ten: And Violet Eyes Will Grow Wider.

It was good to see Kagome so red-faced after laughing. The day following their lovemaking felt, to Inuyasha, just like old times in the Sengoku Jidai; the relationship part, that is. Things were easygoing, and they slept in nice and late, rising at around two in the afternoon. Ko and Shippo had left them a note saying that they were off to meet up with two of their grown kits and some grandkits for the day, so they had the place to themselves all day long. As the afternoon wore on, the duo goofed and lazed around the giant house that they both called home, and, soon, it was early evening. The temperature was just starting to drop outside when Inuyasha decided that he was going to cook, and they both felt like breakfast. So, after a few minutes, they found themselves sitting, together, at the island counter in the kitchen, drinking coffee and eating apple cinnamon pancakes, his new specialty. Kagome had learned only recently that her hanyou had become quite the cook in all the years they'd spent apart.

She still wondered, in the back of her mind as they laughed and joked and smiled, what it had been like for him to have her, then suddenly be alone once more, and then for her to just suddenly return. _Of course, he had Keiko to keep him company…_ she thought soberly, swallowing the huge lump that had begun to form in her throat.

Inuyasha said something random and funny, and Kagome burst into contagious laughter once again, Inuyasha chuckling with her. As Kagome finished her giggling, her husband sat back in his chair and smiled at her. Using her index finger in conjunction with her fork, she loaded her utensil up with bits of apple and pancakes, watching her mate through it all.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Inuyasha's mind, and his golden eyes darted to the window; his face fell slightly, and Kagome sensed his sudden anxiety. She was puzzled by his change in demeanor.

"What's on your mind?"

He shrugged lazily. "Nothin', really."

Kagome smirked at him wryly, chewing slowly. She swallowed. "You're lying."

"So what if I am, wench? What's it to you?"

The former priestess rolled her eyes at him, sticking her tongue out before shoving another forkful of pancakes into her mouth. As she chewed, Kagome watched him stew. "Whatever it is that's got you bummed, I'm pretty sure it doesn't give you license to be a jerk."

He glared at her, standing abruptly at her comment, picking up his cleaned plate and walking around her, into the kitchen. "Well, it's part of who I am apparently, so you can either deal with it or get the fuck out," he snapped over his shoulder at her.

Kagome's jaw dropped, and she gaped at him as he turned and walked away from the sink. "What is _wrong_ with you this morning?" she wanted to know, standing to meet him as he approached for her plate. Inuyasha refused to meet her eyes, trying to reach around her for the dish. She stopped him, laying her hand gently on his arm; his golden eyes met hers, and they both stood there, staring at one another. "I mean," Kagome continued in a low tone, "you must be _the_ most bipolar man – no, bipolar _person_ – that I have ever met! We had a really fantastic thing going here, and then you want to go and fuck it all up with stories of Kikyo!"

Kagome's eyes widened, and Inuyasha's lips parted in disbelief. She slapped a hand over her mouth, looking away from her husband. He stared at her, not quite sure if he'd heard her correctly.

"I need to make sure," he mumbled as she stepped away; he followed, stepping closer to her. His body pressed up against her arm, and she glanced his way, letting her hand fall back down to her side. "Did you really just say _Kikyo_?"

Kagome swallowed, taking a few deep breaths. She mumbled something.

"What did you say?"

She turned and glared at him. "I said I don't know!" she practically yelled at him. Turning, she stormed off, leaving the room. He followed her, calling her name. "Kagome! Kagome, stop! Come back here, woman!"

"Stop, Inuyasha!"

"I know what you said! I heard you! _Stop_!"

She stopped and whirled on him; he almost ran into her, and he was especially surprised when she slapped him across the face. She reared up to slap him again, and Inuyasha caught her hand by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "Damn you, Inuyasha!" she whispered, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "You just _had_ to pull me into this world of yours! And I knew – _everyone_ knew! From the beginning, it was as if it was preordained that I would fall in love with you!"

The stunned look on Inuyasha's face hit Kagome like a ton of bricks, and she ripped her arm out of his grasp and turned away.

He stood there, then, snapping out of it, he ran after her. "Kagome, wait! Wait, wait, wait…" He caught up to her, gently taking her elbow in his hand. "Wait, wait, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Why are you sorry?" she wondered as harsh sobs began to wrack her petite body. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and she fell into his embrace, her anger suddenly stifled by his warmth and intensity.

They both stood there, and Kagome cried out, "What happened to us, Inuyasha?" His arms tightened around her almost painfully, and he sighed into her hair. "Everything was so simple before the stupid well closed up! We were happy, and we were going to be parents, and we could live there, in the feudal era! I would've been so happy there with you, but now…" She shook her head. "And I know that it's completely unrealistic of me to have expected you to stay celibate the entire time we were apart, but that doesn't make it hurt any less!" She sighed and snuggled closer in his embrace.

Inuyasha just stood there, listening and holding her close. His eyes squeezed shut as he felt the minutes ticking by, and, suddenly, there was a pulse, a palpable throbbing of the air around them. Kagome tried to leap back, to pull away – the pulse was so familiar, yet she couldn't believe that it was time again already. But when Inuyasha finally released her and she tilted her head back to look up at him, there he stood in fully human form, his hair ebony and his eyes violet. He sighed underneath her gaze and reached up, tucking a stray strand of his midnight locks behind a very human ear.

Her husband gave her a sheepish, fangless smile. "_This_ is what was bothering me earlier," he murmured, taking a step back from her.

Kagome's face instantly flushed a deep scarlet. "Oh! I'm sorry…"

"For what?" he interrupted.

"For going off on you like that earlier," she told him. "I should've known."

"Keh," he replied, looking away from her. "S'not your fault. I shouldn't have been such a _baka_ about it."

She stared at him for a moment. He stared back, unsure of what she would say next. Then he got his answer in the form a brilliant smirk that made his extremities tingle. "When did you learn how to apologize, Mr. Taisho?"

Inuyasha snickered at her, throwing his arm around her waist and pulling her close once again. "When disputes in this strange world of ours became more about words than about swords, Mrs. Taisho," he answered, his tone thick with something other than amusement. His violet eyes perused her luscious form, which was mostly hidden beneath a silk baby blue chemise, the skirt of which ended halfway down her slim thighs.

Kagome couldn't stifle her nervous giggle beneath that heated stare, and her mate scooped her up into his arms and carried her back through the house, weaving through hallways and rooms until they found one in particular: their own.

The two humans practically hopped into bed together, and Inuyasha began kissing her along her neckline tenderly. She smiled and moaned as he moved downward, his lips never leaving her supple skin for longer than a few seconds.

He made love to her tenderly, making sure that she was content and felt safe. He indulged in whatever he could smell of her natural fragrance with his weakened human nose, and he focused most of his attention on her soft skin, rubbing his cheek along her creamy surface. He entered her slowly and with caution, his eyes open and never leaving hers for an instant. As they made smiling love, Inuyasha allowed the entire brunt of his strong human emotions to bathe him completely, and he used them to his advantage.

_I'm not sure I'd ever get to enjoy Kagome this way as a hanyou…_ he thought as he brought Kagome to her climax, and his heart sang and swelled at the sight of her face twisting in the intense pleasure he knew that she was feeling.

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Kagome sighed as she sat down next to Ko in the living room. "Relax, 'Gome," Ko told the younger woman. "He'll be back soon, won't he?"

Kagome shrugged. "I'm not sure, Ko, and neither is he," she answered. "The tour could go on for up to a year!" She shifted in her seat and leaned against the arm of the sofa, crossing her arms over and laying her head sideways on top of them. Closing her eyes, she let out a calm breath through her nose. "He's only been gone for five weeks, and we may have been fighting like cats and dogs when he left, but I miss him so much." As tears filled her eyes once again, she groaned loudly and buried her head deeper into her arms.

Ko tilted her head at her friend. "You sure have been awfully tired lately, Kagome. Are you sure you're all right?"

Shippo's mate laughed heartily when all Kagome did was shrug, her face still hidden by her arms and the arm of the sofa. Kagome finally lifted her head and looked at Ko, giving the other woman a bright smile. She even chuckled alongside her new friend. "I'm not sure, Ko. I might be sick or something; I'll go to the doctor in the next few days and find out, all right?" Ko nodded her approval, and Kagome shifted in her seat again, swinging her legs out from underneath her. As she stood, the former _geisha_ watched her closely for any and all signs of a possible illness; she found none, other than Kagome's exhausted posture and slight lack of color.

The former priestess walked in the direction of the kitchen, disappearing around a corner. "You feel like something to drink?" she called, and Ko just shook her head, though she knew Kagome couldn't see her. "No, thanks!" she hollered back, her voice echoing shamelessly through the house.

Kagome didn't answer.

All of a sudden, there was small noise from down the hallway; Ko's head shot up, and she stared in the direction the ominous sound came from. "Kagome?" she called.

She still didn't answer.

Ko stood, her anxiety level spiking; her chest was quickly filling with an adrenaline-pumping mixture of dread and fear. As she walked across the room, reaching the door, she called her friend's name again.

Ko was only met by the same, heavy silence.

"Kagome?" Her entire body tensed, cold with terror, and she flew into a run down the corridor, finding her way to the kitchen with ease. There, she found Kagome sprawled on the tile floor, unconscious.

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A/N: A little cliffhanger for ya there… *cue maniacal laughter*

Also, I didn't include it in this chapter, but here's my playlist for this chapter:

"She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5

"Hey Soul Sister" by Train

BTW, a note to Nikkie: If I did that, wouldn't that be my third TOS violation?? Wouldn't that get me kicked off the site?? *snicker* That would suck…

Next Time:

Chapter Eleven: Concussions and Consequences.


	11. Concussions and Consequences

A/N: This is where the drama hits one of its peaks. And I'm bringing the songs back in this chapter; I don't own "Kiss the Girl" I think Disney does… Idk, but the one I'm thinking of is the one Ashley Tisdale remade. She actually did a good job with it, I think. XD I'm such a dork.

Anyway… Got the idea from an AMV someone made and posted on youtube, an InuKag tribute with the song… it's actually really good, and, if you think about, the song really fits their weird, up-and-down relationship.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Eleven: Concussions and Consequences.

Inuyasha sat backstage with his bandmates, listening to the opener. It was a small girl band, but they were pretty cool… for _girls_. As he sat and listened, he realized that, like Chiyo, their drummer, these girls rocked out just as hard any band of guys. They'd even made their own rendition of the classic "Kiss the Girl" out of the American movie _The Little Mermaid_.

"Percussion!"

The drums started up, heavy in the background – "Strings!" – at that, the bass kicked off the song. After a couple of minutes, the guitar joined in, creating a very upbeat sound. The vocalist pulled the mic close and whispered into it, "Words."

She took a deep breath before belting out in a light, stirring voice,

"There you see her,

"Sitting there across the way.

"She don't got a lot to say,

"But there's somethin' about her.

"And you don't know why

"But you're dying to try.

"You wanna kiss the girl."

The vocalist stopped for a minute, and she and the guitarist leaned in together, nodding their heads with the beat, and the singer motioned to the guitarist for something. The other girl nodded and stepped back to her own microphone, and the singer returned to her spot at the front of the stage.

"Yes, you want her.

"Look at her, you know you do.

"It's possible she wants you too,

"There's one way to ask her,

"It don't take a word,

"Not a single word,

"Go on and kiss the girl."

The guitarist sped up her rhythm suddenly, and the vocalist stepped back, nodding her head enthusiastically and grinning widely. Then she hopped right back up to the mic, going on,

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"My, oh my,

"Look like the boy's too shy,

"Ain't gonna kiss the girl!

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"Ain't that sad?

"Ain't it a shame, too bad!

"You're gonna…" The guitar dropped all of a sudden, and the stage fell quiet. "…miss the girl.

"Go on and… kiss the girl…"

It started up again, lightly, and the vocalist continued,

"Now's your moment.

"Floating in a blue lagoon.

"Boy, you better do it soon,

"No time will be better…

"She don't say a word,

"And she won't say a word until you

"Kiss the girl…"

The beat picked up again, and Inuyasha felt goosebumps run up and down his arms at the music and the sound of her voice.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"My, oh my!

"Looks like the boy's too shy,

"Ain't gonna kiss the girl!

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"Ain't that sad?

"Now it's a shame, too bad!

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"Don't be scared,

"You better be prepared!

"Go on and kiss the girl!

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"Don't stop now!

"Don't try to hide it how,

"You wanna kiss the girl!"

The beat slowed, and the drums and the bass both quieted until there was only the guitar carrying the upbeat feeling of the song, and it sank off into a solo, the singer throwing in a "Go on and kiss the girl" every now and then.

Suddenly, the drums kicked up again, and the bass joined in, and the singer sang at the top of her lungs,

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la,

"My, oh my!

"Looks like the boy's too shy!

"Ain't gonna… kiss… the _girl_!

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la!

"Ain't that sad?

"It's such a shame, too bad –

"_You're gonna miss the girl!_

"La-la-la-la-la-la,

"Go on and kiss that girl!

"La-la-la-la-la-la,

"Go on and kiss the girl…"

Slowly, the music died away, and the singer stepped back from the microphone, grinning insanely. As the girls left the stage, Inuyasha stopped the singer. "Are you psychic or something?" he asked her.

She only gave him an amused smile, cocking her head to one side. "Not that I know of. Why?"

He blushed, a little shy suddenly. "Well, my wife and I have been fighting a lot lately, and… Well, this just put some things in perspective for me, as gay as that sounds."

The teenager giggled lightly. "No problem, Mr. Taisho," she answered. "Glad we could be of service." Suddenly, Inuyasha's breath caught at the sight of the familiar twinkle in her mahogany eyes, and he blinked, watching her as she walked away. _It can't be…_ he thought.

"Yo, Yasha, man!"

He snapped out of his musing at the sound of Keisuke's voice, and he hurried onto the stage. _I'll have to look into that later… I'm sure that Kagome would appreciate it_.

The lead singer of the girls' band watched as Inuyasha and Keisuke led Chiyo and Osami through the beginning of their first song, and she had this strange, nostalgic feeling about her. _But I've never met Inuyasha Taisho before… Have I?_ she wondered, her hands shoved deeply into her pockets. She played with her lip ring with tongue and teeth as she pondered, before being rudely interrupted by a sharp call: "_Suzume_!"

Suzume Takahashi turned and jogged away from the stage.

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When Kagome came to, she was in a hospital bed, complete with a thin, polka-dotted hospital gown, an obnoxious IV, and tiny red and blue bracelets galore. She groaned as her head lolled uncomfortably to one side, and the door opened suddenly, revealing a pair of very tired, relieved faces.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried out, practically leaping to her bedside. "You're awake!"

She nodded slightly, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose. "What the heck happened?" she wanted to know, her voice quiet.

"Well," Ko started, taking a seat at her side next to her husband, "you asked if I wanted something to drink when you went into the kitchen. I heard a weird noise, and, when I called your name, you never answered. I went to investigate and found you on the kitchen floor, totally knocked out, and the top of your head was starting to gush blood. You must'a hit your head on the corner of the stove, or on the fridge." She snuck a sideways glance at Shippo before continuing in a lower voice, "I called 911, like, _right_ then. They brought you here – and now you're awake!"

Kagome shifted in the bed once again, trying her best to clear the fog in her head and talk to her friends. "How long've I been here?"

Shippo shrugged. "About a day and a half," he told her nonchalantly, and Kagome's eyes widened. She struggled to sit up suddenly, and both Ko and Shippo leaped to their feet, their arms held out and twin panicked looks striking their faces. "No!" the pair of mates yelled simultaneously, and if Kagome wasn't too busy being annoyed, she would've smirked and even laughed at the amusing sight.

But, as her mood was, she just sighed and leaned back, rolling her eyes and giving a weak cough. "You need to stay in bed a while longer, Kagome," Shippo told his once mother-figure. "The doctor said that you hit your head pretty hard, and that we'd be fortunate if you woke up again."

Kagome stifled yet another exasperated groan. "Hello?" she asked them sarcastically. "Mated to a hanyou? The whole blood exchange thing, apparently, gives me his resilience. Besides, when I was just normal Kagome in the Sengoku Jidai, I saved your little trickster butt from many a powerful youkai, so I like to think that a mere stove won't be what does me in."

Shippo snorted, obviously in love with her choice of words. Ko just stared at her mate, and he quieted underneath her pointed look. "We don't mean that, Kagome," Shippo told her. "We just – We just have been especially worried about you. You have no idea how relieved we were when we rounded that corner and walked in to find you awake finally!"

A thought suddenly crossed Kagome's mind. "Have you or the doctor called Inuyasha yet?"

The pair shared a look before turning back to Kagome; they shook their heads in unison. "Do you want us to?" Shippo asked.

"No!"

They were both surprised by Kagome's unexpected outburst; she settled back down almost instantly. "I'm just… not sure how he'll react," she confessed in a small voice, looking away from them. "And I don't wanna know just yet."

Ko nodded. "We understand," she said, ignoring the protesting look that her mate shot her over his shoulder right then.

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound from the doorway; Shippo and Ko turned, and Kagome looked up. There stood the doctor, a tall _youkai_ with a kind face and light blue eyes. He smiled at the occupants of the room and came in.

"Well, hello there," he said. "I was wondering – May I have a word alone with Mrs. Taisho, please?" The _youkai_ looked to Shippo and Ko; they both nodded and left the room. Shippo gave Kagome a quick squeeze of the hand before he turned and followed his mate out into the hall, closing the large, broad door behind him.

The doctor turned his attention fully to Kagome, who still lay meekly in the hospital bed. She swallowed the lump threatening to form in her throat, and their eyes met. "Well?" she asked in a small voice, trying to keep her tone sounding polite. "What's wrong with me? Why'd I go and faint like that in the middle of my own kitchen? I mean…" She watched the doctor closely for any body language that could give it away without words. There was none; just that same, sincere smile. "Doctor, what's wrong with me?" Her next words came out at barely a whisper: "Am I ill?"

The _youkai_ physician let out a loud, hearty laugh. "No, Mrs. Taisho," he answered. "No, there's nothing wrong with you – well, except that your iron was a little low, thus the fainting. You hit your head on something when you fell, and that explains the bump, gash, and concussion. You'll be somewhat woozy for a couple more days, and we'll keep you here for observation. We'll also be making sure you get that iron count up before we send you home."

Kagome cocked her head to one side, puzzled. "Iron?" she asked. "Is that weird that it's low like that?"

The doctor shrugged, hanging the clipboard in his hands at the foot of her bed. "It really depends on how you look at it," he answered. "There _is_ a reason for your iron being low…"

Now she was absolutely bewildered. "Well?" she asked. "Are you going to spit it out?" _Kami, I'm sounding more and more like that asshole hanyou of mine…_

But the _youkai_ only chuckled. "So impatient, like your husband," he stated, and Kagome gave him a look. His chuckling ceased, and he cleared his throat. "Yes, well. The reason, Mrs. Taisho, that your iron was so low is that you're pregnant."

Kagome's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. "You're kidding," she said.

The doctor shook his head. "No, ma'am, I'm not. You're a good five weeks – which is strange, considering that you're husband is half-inuyoukai. You should have started experiencing symptoms of pregnancy sooner than this…" He shrugged once again, which was really starting to work Kagome's nerves. "We have a _kumo_ working on this floor as an obstetrician; I'll persuade him to take you on as a new patient. She's quite talented, as _kumo_ are skilled with vibrations and a certain degree of telepathy; she'll be very handy throughout your pregnancy." The doctor flashed Kagome another smile and a quick "Congratulations" before disappearing out the door, leaving her to try to soak in all the new information.


	12. Hoping Beyond Hope

A/N: Now, ladies and gents (mostly ladies, I fear), we arrive at the next major plot twist. Have fun! *evil smirk*

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twelve: Hoping Beyond Hope.

Rin and Kagome both stopped at the top of the stairs. Rin had tried to talk Kagome into taking the elevator, but the Miko-turned-housewife was stubborn – quite possibly even more stubborn than her _hanyou_ husband. The older woman just shook her head, recalling her own pregnancies; _inu_ pups were just not very much fun for humans such as themselves to carry.

"When is Inuyasha going to be back?" Rin wanted to know as Kagome took in deep breath after deep breath.

"In about three more months," she answered after another minute, using the shiny, metal banister to hold herself up. Her hand automatically flew to her stomach as she paled suddenly, turning to the side and vomiting on the marble floor. Rin grimaced and dashed forward, her hand rubbing Kagome's back comfortingly. The other woman shuddered as her stomach emptied, and Rin felt sick herself at the choking sounds emitting from her friend. "I _told_ you we should take the elevator," she murmured gently, her tone low and worried.

Kagome groaned, straightening and wiping her mouth. "Blah, blah, I know," she shot back grumpily as her chocolate eyes met Rin's. She immediately felt bad for being so gruff when she saw the storm of concern in Rin's bright, hazel eyes. Kagome sighed, holding her aching head with one hand and placing her other on her sister-in-law's shoulder in apology. "I'm sorry, Rin-chan," she told the petite woman. "You know that I'm not myself lately."

Rin nodded, her expression still grim with worry. "I know, Kagome-oneesan," she replied quietly, still rubbing the Miko's back gently. "I know. _Youkai_ pregnancies are rarely fun for us _ningen_."

Kagome sighed, turning her head and spying the door at the end of the narrow, brightly lit corridor. She gestured toward it. "That must be the door to her office," she told Rin, who nodded in agreement. Slowly, the two of the started down the metallic hallway in silence, Kagome feeling too ill for conversation and Rin too worried for words. _Hopefully this kumo will be able to tell us why this pregnancy is so hard on Kagome-chan_, Rin thought as she reached forward and turned the knob. She held the door open for her pregnant companion and followed her into the doctor's office.

They both walked into a rather large waiting room. Linked, wooden chairs sat in rows on top of seafoam green carpet. The walls were painted a very simple off-white, and the only person they could see was a rather pretty young woman sitting at the receptionist's desk, which was set into the far wall to the left of the entrance, beside another door. She had shiny, ebony hair pulled back into a very long ponytail, and she watched them with solid black eyes that stood out against her remarkably china-pale, oval-shaped face.

"Hello," she called to them in a slightly bored tone as they approached. Despite her slightly alarming appearance, this woman radiated good, kind energy, Kagome realized.

"Hi," Kagome replied, coming closer. "My name is Kagome Taisho. I have an appointment with Dr. Ishida."

The woman nodded, her eyes darting over to a short stack of papers on the far right of the desk. "Are you here to see Dr. Ayana Ishida or Dr. Kensei Ishida?" she asked as she dug through the stack. Kagome's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the _kumo_ woman's claws; they were completely black and at least two inches long, making up the entirety of her fingertips.

She tried to swallow her fear and answered, "Dr. Ayana Ishida."

The _kumo_ nodded. "Aha!" she cried out enthusiastically as she plucked a sheet of paper out of the middle of the stack; her outburst surprised the two women, causing them both to jump. The _kumo_ giggled before disappearing; after just another moment, the door beside them opened, and there she was. "I am Ayana Ishida, OB. It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Taisho." She bowed her head, holding out her hand to shake Kagome's.

Kagome just stared at her lengthy claws.

Dr. Ishida followed the young woman's gaze and pulled her hand back, laughing heartily. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said. "I realize that they are rather frightening, but there's really nothing that I can do with them. The cloaking spell most _youkai_ and _hanyou_ use won't get rid of them, and they're not retractable. They only secrete venom when I want them to, if that helps any."

"Not really," Kagome mumbled, blinking.

"Dr. Ishida-" Rin started, but the _kumo_ doctor held her hand up to stop the young woman. "Please," she said to them both, "call me Ayana. Dr. Ishida is my brother. And my sire." She turned and started to walk away, leading them both through the door and into a network of examination rooms. "And my grandsire, and my great-grandmere…" She winked at Kagome and Rin as she opened the door to Exam Room 4. "Well, you two get the idea."

They both nodded as they entered the surprisingly large exam room, closely followed by Ayana. The spider shut the door and went straight to the counter, setting the paper down and opening up one of the white cabinets that hung against the wall. Kagome took her place on the edge of the paper-covered exam table, while Rin took a seat in the chair beside it.

"So where is your darling _inuhanyou_?" Ayana asked, smiling at Kagome as she snapped on a pair of latex gloves; her undoubtedly sharp claws tore right through them. "He should be here with you for your first prenatal appointment, shouldn't he?"

Kagome looked at Rin, who shrugged her shoulders. "How did you know my husband is an _inuhanyou_?" she asked the doctor, whose smile only widened.

"Your general practitioner didn't tell you?"

Kagome blinked in puzzlement. "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about," she answered, "so I'm not sure. What is it I'm missing?"

Ayana's smile turned genuine. "_Kumoyoukai_ are very adept at sensing vibrations," she answered. "As such, my species have a very easy time with what other species call telepathy. We merely sense the vibrations made by the synapses firing in the brain, and they translate quite easily into thoughts for us."

Kagome and Rin both blinked. Ayana sighed. "I can read thoughts."

"And?" Kagome asked. "What does that have to do with knowing that my husband is an _inuhanyou_? How did you know that?"

She smirked. "Lie down, Mrs. Taisho," she said simply.

"Kagome," she shot back, ignoring Rin's smirk as she laid back on the exam table. The paper rustled beneath her, and she closed her eyes as Ayana bent forward, bringing her face closer to her still flat tummy.

The doctor smiled. "I can hear them," she murmured, her breath hot against Kagome's skin.

"What?" Rin asked sharply, flying out of the chair and darting closer to the doctor and the patient. She pressed her ear right up to Kagome's stomach for a few moments before pulling away, looking accusingly at Ayana. "Why can you hear 'em and I can't?"

Ayana smirked knowingly. "Because, dear, you are not _kumo_," she answered, placing her clawed hands on Rin's shoulders and guiding her back to the chair. The human sat, pouting, and Kagome laughed.

"You have a bright pair there," Ayana told Kagome in a conversational tone, running her sharp claw along Kagome's stomach. The former priestess blinked at her, stunned by her words. "P-pair?" she asked.

Ayana nodded. "Yes, my dear," she answered in a sweet voice, tapping the spot just above her belly button lightly with the tip of her claw. "Here is your daughter," she told Kagome before moving her hand to the lower region of Kagome's belly. "And here is your son." She gently prodded the spot just below her belly button, still smiling. "Funny how that worked out for you. Your daughter is a quarter-_inuyoukai_; your son is fully human. He's got a bit of your Miko powers, too. She's the one who caught your spunk; he seems fairly quiet and reserved, laid-back even."

Kagome and Rin both stared at the spider obstetrician, speechless. Ayana grinned proudly, yanking off the gloves and throwing them away. As she wrote on the paper she'd set down on the counter, Kagome and Rin shared a stunned look.

"This is an awesome doctor," Kagome told her sister-in-law.

"No lie! I wish she'd been around during all _my_ pregnancies!" Rin gushed quietly, causing Kagome to chuckle.

"Oh, you can sit up now, Kagome," Ayana told her patient, who complied. "I won't do anything invasive if I can help it. They are perfectly healthy for eight weeks along, and the entire reason that you're so tired is that one of them is a quarter _youkai_. She'll be taking a lot out of you." She turned, ripping a sheet off her prescription pad and handing it to Kagome, who was now standing. "This is a prescription for a strong batch of prenatal vitamins. They're specially designed for the needs of _inuyoukai_ pups such as that precious little girl in there."

Kagome stared down at the prescription, then looked up into Ayana's gently smiling face. "I just have one question," she said.

"Yes?"

Kagome smirked. "Do you _ever_ stop smiling?"

All three women laughed; a _kumo_ man poked his head out of one of the exam room doors, giving them a very strange look.

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The dark-haired man leaned closer to her, placing a light kiss on her cheek. "Are they asleep?" he asked her.

She nodded, knowing instinctually that he meant the hyperactive girls and reserved little boy in the next room of the small house. He shed his robes at the bedside, and she shivered slightly at the sight of his muscular, nude body.

"How do you still elicit that reaction from me after all these years?" she asked him quietly as he slid into the bed beside her. She scooted closer to him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She laid her head on his chest and sighed contentedly as he twined his fingers with hers.

"Proud that this hand hasn't dared to wander in years?" he asked, musing.

She shifted a little, looking up into his big, violet eyes, eyes filled with warmth – warmth reserved only for her, she knew.

"Yes," she answered before kissing him deeply. "I am very proud of you."

Suzume woke with a start, bolting upright in her bunk on the bus. She was wearing only a large, white t-shirt, and it was covered in sweat. Her legs were freezing, and they were wet with her sweat as well. She was panting, her chest heaving, and she grabbed it, brushing her hair roughly out of her way.

"Bad dreams?"

She jerked in surprise, whirling around in her bunk to face a pair of golden eyes illuminating the dark bus. Inuyasha was also sitting up, staring at her… watching her.

Suzume shook her head. "No," she answered, recalling the dream. She licked her lips. "It was actually…" She sighed. "It was actually a very good dream. I just…" She groaned, choking back a confused sob. "I just wish that I understood it!"

"What was it about?" he asked softly, still watching her.

She held her face in her hands for a moment, thinking. "I was – I was happy. I was married, and I had children that I loved, who loved me, and –" She swallowed audibly, shaking her head. "I don't know. It didn't feel as if it was taking place in this time, you know? It was like I was someone else, and _he_ was someone else – But, oh Kami, I loved him, I _loved _him so much!" She broke down into thick, wretched sobs right then, and the musician darted forward, gathering her into his arms and holding her close as she cried for her loss – a loss that Suzume didn't even fully understand.

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Next:

Chapter Thirteen: Formerly a Friend.

A/N: I am not a leading expert on spiders, of course, so the part about them sensing vibrations is just plain made up. And the telepathy... basically, when a person forms a thought, the synapses in your brain are firing to create that thought. What Ayana is saying is that kumo can sense the vibrations caused by those synapses firing, and their instincts automatically translate that into formed thoughts that they can choose to hear.

Also: I am a (fairly) devout Catholic, so I am of the belief that children have a mind of their own long before they are born. If this is not your belief, that is fine; however, for my story to work, I have incorporated my belief into it.


	13. Formerly a Friend

A/N: This is a very short chapter, I know, but it's mostly just to introduce new characters and to bring everyone back to the main plot of the story – the tale of Inuyasha and his geisha.

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Thirteen: Formerly a Friend.

He fell suddenly to his knees, grasping the wound in his side. The gash was deep, and it bled harshly, spattering the dirt with deep red. He swallowed hard, blinking rapidly as his vision quickly lost its focus.

"Miroku!"

The voice was high-pitched and feminine, though she sounded… _strong_, somehow. He turned his entire body around to face her as she ran to him, dropping to her own knees and skidding toward him. She was clothed in a strange black uniform, and it clung to her skin perfectly, as if it were her very skin.

Her eyes were the color of the earth, and they gushed with tears as they looked him over. "Oh, Gods, Miroku-san! You're so pale…" she murmured as he fell into her arms, swallowing the blood that was collecting in his mouth. The copper taste forced him to gag, and she helped him turn to his side to spit it out. When he resumed his former position, lying on his back, he looked up into her sweet face; she was crying much more openly now, her face stained with tears.

He reached up slowly, rubbing her chin with his fingertip. "Oh, Sango…" he murmured, fading quickly into black. "My beautiful Sango…"

"Miroku!" he heard her scream, though he could no longer see her beautiful, crying face. "Miroku-san, don't go!"

Her sobbing continued until it, too, faded away.

"Number twenty-nine!"

A new voice pierced the darkness, bringing him floating back up to the surface. He opened his eyes slowly, wary of the bright sunlight that filled the crowded soba shop. Standing, he looked around, shoving his thin-framed glasses high up on his nose once again; he made his way slowly through the near-bursting crowd, trying to reach the counter with his numbered ticket in hand. He didn't even notice when one small woman turned and, upon spying his face, her eyes widened. Without paying much attention, he bumped right into her, trying to slide past to reach the counter.

"Hey!" he heard suddenly, and it seemed like such a familiar voice – but not nearly as confusingly familiar as the stinging sensation that erupted in his cheek when that same girl slapped him fully across the face. Stunned, he stared down into her chocolate brown eyes as her cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red, and she hollered, "Hentai!"

He blinked down at her, his entire body heating up considerably as the flashbacks overtook him once again. He began to shake, falling forward and gripping the small woman tightly by her shoulders.

They stood together at the edge of a clearing, a wooden well not too far from them, as well as a very large, slightly gnarled tree. The sun was setting against the horizon, bathing them in shades of deep ruby and explosive violet. He held onto her – she was much more than a simple memory.

She was proof. Proof that it was all real.

He blinked, and he was suddenly back in the soba shop, holding the petite woman by the shoulders while being screamed at by her equally small female companion. Still a bit dazed, he managed to rip his eyes from the girl's to look at the one yelling at him; she stopped when he looked at her, recognition lighting up in her green-brown eyes.

_They are not her_, he thought, slowly releasing his grip on her shoulders.

"Kagome-sama," he murmured softly, and she gasped.

"Houshi-sama!" she said sharply. "It _is_ you – isn't it?"

He gave her a slight smile, stepping back and shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. "In a way, yes," he answered, his mind still flashing back and forth between coloring her in sunny yellows and whites and in darkening reds and blues and purples. She looked nearly the exact same.

Together, forgetting their soba, the trio left the shop, ignoring the strange stares that they had accumulated throughout their torrid reunion.

There was so much to discuss…

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_I ran through the full streets, busy with men and women alike being ushered into military convoys. Every time I laid eyes on a slightly familiar face, I would yell – no, scream at them, "Keiko no Asakusa? Keiko wo sagashite imasu!" Everyone just shook their heads at me sadly, knowing what I was asking for._

_Finally, Cho appeared in the crowd; she'd worked with Sakura and Keiko at the tea house in Asakusa many, many times before, I knew. I called to her, "Chotto matte kudasai! Tetsudatte kuremasuka? Keiko wo sagashite imasu!"_

_Cho gave me a grim look before pointing further on down the street, whispering, "Asoko."_

_I turned my head, looking in the direction she was handing to me; then I looked back at her sad face with my own. "Arigatou!" I told her before disappearing back into the crowd. When I turned back, I watched as Cho, one of the finest geisha of Asakusa, was shoved into the back of a convoy with the rest of them, as though they were all trash._

_I turned and fled down the cobbled road, still looking for my Keiko._

_As soon as I spotted her, I hurried forward, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her with me. Alarmed, she fought me for a moment, but I shushed her, murmuring, "Watashi to issho ni kite kudasai, Keiko. Watashi to issho ni kite kudasai."_

_Her eyes met mine, and she nodded. "Hai, Inuyasha-san."_

_I pulled her behind me to a carriage and loaded her into it, instructing her of what to do the entire time. At one point, she stopped me, throwing me a frightened look and crying out, "Wakarimasen!"_

_Tears filled my eyes as I held her face in my hands, and I switched to English for just long enough to tell her what I didn't want the others around us to hear: "Go to the Sunset Shrine. They will take care of you there."_

_All she could say was a breathless "Honto?" as she stared at me, obviously shocked by my words. I realized that she was already situated in the carriage seat; I paid the driver quickly, and he was off, Keiko still watching me, open-mouthed, as she was pulled away._

"_Daisuki desu," I said gently, knowing that only the wind was listening to me now. I watched her as she disappeared through the gate without any problems, and then I turned to hurry back home._

_Sesshomaru and I needed to prepare for the oncoming war._

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Next Time:

Chapter Fourteen: Love is Like Rain…

A/N: I was trying to play with another writing style with the last part of this chapter - I think my brain may be rotting from rewatching too much Samurai Champloo here lately. XD Please tell me if it works with or against the flow of the story; here is where feedback is essential. Here are the translations for the Japanese phrases included in the latter part of this chapter:

_Keiko no Asakusa – _Keiko of Asakusa (Asakusa was a geisha district in Tokyo during this period).

_Keiko wo sagashite imasu – _I'm looking for Keiko.

_Cho_ – a female name meaning "butterfly"

_Chotto matte kudasai – _One moment please!

_Tetsudatte kuremasuka – _Can you help me?

_Asoko_ – There.

_Arigatou_ – Thank you!

_Watashi to issho ni kite kudasai_ – Come with me.

_Hai – _Yes.

_-san – _Mr./Ms./Mrs.

_Wakarimasen – _I don't understand!

_Honto? ­– _Really?

_Daisuki desu_ – a more informal way of saying "I am loving you" or "I love you."


	14. Love is Like Rain

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Fourteen: Love is Like Rain…

Chiyo grasped Inuyasha's arm backstage, eyeing Suzume as she walked out onto the stage. "Are you sure that you wanna do this?" the drummer asked; Inuyasha turned and watched as his fellow vocalist came to stand at the center of the stage, setting her microphone at the right height. Keisuke and Osami stood not too far behind her, holding on to their instruments and watching their bandmates expectantly.

Suzume scooted her own mic over at the front of the stage, looking over at Inuyasha and smiling softly.

He smiled back for barely a moment before turning back to look Chiyo in the eye. "Don't worry," he told her, patting her shoulder. "I've got everything under control. I'll share with you later on tonight, after the concert. I promise." He gave her a quick grin and jogged on to the stage, reaching the second microphone and fixing it to suit him. Chiyo just shook her head, and ran full-speed over to her drumset at the back of the large stage. Grabbing her sticks and tapping them together, counting aloud with the Keisuke and Osami, she shook her head and started up the quick, upbeat rhythm.

Osami joined with her, and Keisuke only had to wait about a minute before he and Inuyasha started up together. Suzume smiled at a girl from her own band, who was sitting at her electric piano next to Osami. The two shared a secret smile that only Suzume seemed to catch as the girl started up a xylophone-like sound on her piano.

Inuyasha grinned at Suzume as he leaned forward, right into the mic, and sang:

"I'm at the water's edge and

"I am bearing closer…

"This is where I'll be,

"Where you can find me.

"My shadow's kissing secrets

"Are hunted at your name-"

He caught Suzume's eyes as he strummed, singing, "I never meant to make you cry,

"Love come back to me…"

She watched him in return as her lips met her own microphone, and she belted out in a sweet, melodic voice, "Troubled boy!

"I'll kiss you one last time

"And then say goodnight…

"Forever…"

Inuyasha lunged forward as Suzume fell back. "But little girl,

"I'm not feeling well-

"These nights are long and rough…

"Without you.

"Who's sending letters through the mail-?"

Suzume: "Stop it,

"Quit calling my name!"

Inuyasha: "Whose empty chair is at the table-?"

Suzume: "It's mine,

"and I left it alone!"

Together: "Who changed the locks?

"Who took the pictures off the walls?

"String me along like a beautiful love song…

"Carolina… Carolina…

"Carolina… Carolina…"

Inuyasha grinned at Suzume as he closed his eyes and took over:

"Now that I have you,

"May I use you as a muse-"

Suzume joined him suddenly: "And keep you up all night in trading stories,

"And whisper singing love…"

Inuyasha dropped away, letting Suzume continue, "Troubled boy!

"I'll kiss you one last time

"And then say goodnight…

"Forever…"

Inuyasha was about to pick back up when he looked over, catching Suzume's suddenly panicked eyes as she toppled over forward, nearly falling straight into the crowd. The rest of the musicians on stage stopped playing and bolted forward to help him as he caught her; Chiyo about kicked her entire set out of the way as she hurried. Keisuke yelled out to medical attendants that were always standing by offstage in case of an emergency.

The paramedics hurried forward and helped Inuyasha carry Suzume off the stage as the crowd went back and forth between hushing and roaring.

"Inu-Inuyasha!" the younger musician gasped as tears rolled roughly down the sides of her face. He grunted a little when she reached up and gripped his upper arms; she was still strong as hell, even as a vocalist in this life. "Inuyasha! It hurts – Oh, Kamis, it _hurts_! Where is he? He needs to – Oh, he needs to be here, he needs to _be _here!" She squeezed her eyes shut as the medics pulled her into a secluded place backstage and began working on her.

It was at that point that Inuyasha stepped back to let them do their jobs, though he knew they'd find nothing wrong with her.

It was all in her head, he realized solemnly as Chiyo caught his eyes meaningfully. Nodding, he disappeared down the hallway with the drummer, ready to tell her the news, while Suzume lay just a few rooms down, writhing in panic and agony as she relived her torturous death.

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Kagome moaned as the former monk's fingers worked their way smoothly across the small of her back. Her eyes slowly slid closed as she slumped forward just a little, and Rin smirked as she watched the two old friends reconnect in such an easy way.

Minoru settled into the simple rhythm of his fingers melting into her skin, and he smiled as calming memories of rubbing Sango's back during each of her pregnancies returned to him. He remembered how much she had loved them, about as much as Kagome seemed to love it here and now. Maybe it was a woman thing…

"So," Rin began, cutting into his thoughts, and he turned to look at her. He felt good looking at her, because it wasn't the same as looking at Kagome. Kagome, who looked the exact same as the last time he had seen her, tricked his mind on many different levels, forcing him to choose between reality and memory. With Rin, there was no choice; he couldn't bounce back and forth between her adult image sitting across from him and the tiny, hopeful little girl he had seen following Sesshomaru around like a lost puppy.

It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

"Are you still a monk in this life, Minoru?" she asked him.

He blinked, his fingers still working soft grunts of approval from Kagome. "I am a doctor," he answered. "I am actually a descendent of the _taijiya_ and the _houshi_ that helped end the fiend Naraku's life."

"Whoa, wait," Kagome murmured, sitting forward and pulling out of his hands. Minoru blinked at her this time, surprised by her shift in mood. He watched her closely as she shook her head vigorously, trying quite obviously to clear her fuzzy head. She turned in her seat, her eyes settling on the reincarnation of the infamous _hentai_. "You're saying that you are a descendent of Miroku and Sango in this life? Like, you have their blood in you?"

Minoru smiled at her, amused by her confusion. "Yes, Kagome-sama," he answered her, bowing his head slightly.

Kagome furrowed her brow, puzzled, as she shifted slightly in her seat beside Rin; she realized that a certain part of her body hadn't come in contact with a certain appendage of Minoru's. It was a slightly unsettling thought.

The young doctor gave her a look. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

She stared at him. "You… You haven't groped me, Minoru," she stated in a small, bewildered voice.

That same look stayed, frozen on his face for a moment, and then he broke out into a rather large grin and _laughed_. Kagome and Rin looked at each other, both somewhat startled by the unfamiliar sound Minoru was making; they'd both known Miroku's laughter for a long time, but this… This was very different.

"I'm not a pervert like my previous incarnation and ancestor was, Kagome-sama, Rin-sama," he told them. Then his grin widened, his lips thinning drastically. Suddenly, his violet eyes began to sparkle with a brilliance neither young woman had seen in a very long time, and his expression transformed into a lecherous smirk. He waggled his eyebrows at her in his trademark way. "Well, not a _complete_ pervert, that is."

"_Minoru_!" both girls cried out, breaking off into loud, rambunctious giggling with him.

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Next time:

Chapter Fifteen: …When You Don't Need It…


	15. When You Don't Need It

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Fifteen: …When You Don't Need It…

Kagome sighed as she countered the final step with Minoru's hands on her arm, helping her. She was already well into her seventh month of the pregnancy, and she and Inuyasha were still apart. They hadn't spoken in several months, and life for her had gone on as normal. She felt the brunt of the loneliness only late into the night, when she was in bed and thinking of only him and what they had been through together.

She tried not to think of him often, though, because the twins always began to move when she did, and then they wouldn't _stop_ moving, and there would be no sleeping for her that entire night.

Now, though, she felt that bitter emotion seeping into her from all sides as she looked past the red _torii_ at the place both she and Inuyasha had come to know as the warmest and safest place on Earth in the past.

Sayuri Higurashi came running out of the front door of the small home, her face and eyes bright with excitement. "Kagome, dear! You've returned home for a visit at last?" she asked her daughter, slowing her pace as she approached and saw the full roundness of Kagome's belly.

"You're pregnant?!"

Kagome sighed as Minoru and Rin both stayed at her side, Minoru still holding her and helping her along. "Yes, Mama," she replied in her usual soft voice. Mrs. Higurashi stepped back, allowing them to pass into the house. Before crossing the threshold, however, Kagome stopped to take one more look at the nearby Goshinboku, her eyes lingering on the scar that she knew would never fade away. Pausing in her steps, she allowed herself to be overtaken by the memories of that fateful day – that day full of pain and confusion and destiny. That day that she met Inuyasha…

Blinking and returning to the present time, Kagome stepped inside the house, Minoru at her side, Rin at her back, and her mother closely following the lot of them.

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Chiyo and Inuyasha were lounging in one of the hotel rooms with Suzume – who was doing anything but. While Inuyasha laid on the bed, his head propped up on multiple pillows, Chiyo sat in the window, her legs swung over to hang outside, and she watched as the parking lot bustled with a strange life that one didn't see every day. Suzume was attempting another handstand, but she quickly fell over – again.

She sighed, glaring at Inuyasha. "_Baka_! This would be so much easier if you would lend me a hand!"

The hanyou snickered in her direction, his golden eyes glinting mischievously in the lamplight. "You used to be such a high and mighty demon slayer," he commented in return. Suzume glared back at his telltale smirk. "Whatever happened to that attitude of yours, Sango-chan?"

She groaned, frustrated. "My name is Suzume!" she cried out. "_Not_ Sango! _Not_ Sango-_chan_! Just Suzume!"

"But you are her," Chiyo commented offhandedly, tilting her body backward to lay her back against the wall. Suzume's eyes widened when she saw the way the drummer's body contorted. "And as her, this style of living should be in your blood."

"What? You're saying that since I'm the reincarnation of this dead demon slayer that I should be double-jointed like you?"

Chiyo sighed, rolling her eyes. Inuyasha chuckled at the sight of her rolling her eyes while upside-down. "No, you _baka taijiya_. You should be in better shape. If you were, then you would be able to do all sorts of things with your body." She waggled her eyebrows at Suzume, which was another gesture that came off ten times more comical while performing it upside-down. "Legend has it that your _hentai_ husband adored the way your body twisted."

Inuyasha barked out a loud laugh while Suzume was busy flushing a deep red. She fumed at Chiyo, growling a little from her chest. "You butt out, ya pervert!" she snapped at the drummer, who just pulled herself rightside-up and smirked at the vocalist. Suzume whirled on Inuyasha, who still sat on the bed. "And _you_! What's so important in Tokyo anyway? Why do we need to go there now that the tour's done?"

Inuyasha quieted almost instantly, and he eyed Suzume. "Because I need to see my wife. It's been a very long time now."

Suzume blinked as old memories flooded her once again. Her right hand flew up, gripping her head as the surge of memory caused an ache. "Oh. Kagome… is your wife now?" she asked in a melancholic tone.

The hanyou vocalist nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes. And it's been nearly eight months since I saw her last, and I'm anxious to continue what we'd started before I left." He stood, walking past Chiyo and around Suzume, both women watching him.

"And what's that?" Suzume wanted to know as he reached for the doorknob.

His hand rested on it a minute before twisting the brass knob and pulling the door open. "Recovery." He left, shutting the door behind him and setting off down the hallway.

Suzume watched the door for a few more minutes after Inuyasha had left, and Chiyo finally swung her legs back inside the bedroom. "Was he always like this?" the drummer asked, sitting beside the reincarnation. Suzume glanced at her, then returned her gaze to the wooden door across the room from them. Chiyo barely noticed her shake her head. "No," the vocalist answered. "He used to have way more spunk than this. Right now, he's just…" She grimaced. "_Depressed_."

Chiyo nodded. "It's been a while since he's seen Kagome. That seems to put him in a foul mood – when they're apart for a long time, or when they're fighting." She snickered, laying back on the bed and mussing the sheets purposely. "She's a kicker, that one," Chiyo went on, watching Suzume's back. "Seems so unlikely, the two of them."

Suzume laughed lightly. "Yeah, they've always been that way. They fight, then they make up, then they fight, then they make up. They're a rollercoaster relationship if we ever saw one!" Chiyo smiled.

"They were a real pair, eh?"

Suzume smiled, her eyes losing their focus as she dipped into the huge store of Sango's memories that she was now privy to. "Yes," she murmured as she sat inside Kaede's hut and looked at her four best friends: sweet schoolgirl Kagome in her uniform, tiny and obnoxious Shippo in her arms, brash Inuyasha in his red fire-rat, scowling at the little kitsune, and, finally, her cherished monk Miroku…

She sighed, wishing the scene away. Chiyo watched her, concern flashing onto her face momentarily.

"So you're a descendent of the _houshi_ and _taijiya_?" Suzume asked the drummer, who blinked in surprise at the personal question.

The former demon slayer watched in rapt attention as the normally upbeat musician dimmed significantly. It struck her that she'd never really heard Chiyo speak of her family life, nor had she ever heard Inuyasha speak of it.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out, backtracking with a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks. "I didn't mean to-"

Chiyo sighed, silencing Suzume. "My Okaa-sama died when I was very, very small. My Otou-sama fell into a very deep depression, one from which he still has not recovered. My parents shared a very special bond, and they were very close – much like you and the _hentai_ were five centuries ago." She smiled a small, sweet smile as a thick wave of nostalgia overcame her. "My family is one of the few branches of our lineage that knows the legend of Naraku and his demise, and the role that our ancestors played in it. We have known for hundreds of years Inuyasha's true nature, and of his loss of his Miko mate. Now, I am the only one who has witnessed his gain." She raised her violet eyes, and Suzume gasped when she realized that they were Miroku's eyes, somehow passed down through hundreds of generations.

Finally, she looked away, sighing. "You have his eyes," she commented to the drummer without looking back up.

She listened as Chiyo chuckled. "Yes," she said quietly. "That is what Inuyasha said as well."

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Minoru was at Kagome's side, silent as he helped her through the foyer. Rin had already gone back to Sesshomaru's side for the night, and it left a heavily pregnant Kagome and a quietly pondering Minoru alone at the mansion. He had been staying there with her on and off again in Inuyasha's absence, mostly because her pregnancy greatly concerned him. Her son the human Miko was fine; he feared nothing from the boy. But the daughter… Her aura frightened him, throwing him on his guard at all times now, whether he was around Kagome or not.

The girl was consumed by so much demonic blood that he found it hard to believe Kagome's nonchalant attitude regarding her obvious fatigue. He knew that rest and youkai-strength prenatal pills weren't going to help her until the birth as much as she was trying to make him believe, and every time he came over to spend the night or the weekend or the week at their large, currently empty home, he chose the bedroom next to Kagome and Inuyasha's own master bedroom – in case she needed him in the middle of the night, he could rush right over to her side.

Minoru could feel that Kagome's quarter-demon daughter was a good soul, but she could unintentionally drain her mother dry throughout this pregnancy, and he was honestly surprised that Kagome was still standing herself, let alone still carrying the boy. He'd heard of youkai pregnancies ending very badly for humans, and it still astounded him how a human woman could carry a hanyou or quarter-demon to full term. Being a doctor in this life, Minoru used the memories from his life as Miroku to become Kagome's OB alongside Dr. Ayana Ishida.

He still wasn't too sure what he or Kagome thought of the goofy _kumo_, but she was a damn good doctor, and they were headed for another visit to her office in the morning. With that thought in mind, Minoru began to prepare to turn in for the night.

"Minoru?"

He blinked, looking to the doorway. Kagome's voice sounded weak, and it was coming from down the hall instead of the next room. He went quickly to the room her voice had come from, and he found her in one of Inuyasha's various practice rooms.

This one, he noticed, seemed dedicated solely to percussion: several different types of drums, a xylophone, an electric keyboard – and an absolutely beautiful black grand piano sitting just inside the balcony. The door to the balcony was wide open, and the wind was blowing in gently, parting the thin, white curtains.

Kagome sat at the piano, staring down at its keyboard. From the doorway, he could see the slight, gorgeous pink tinge to her cheeks – but he knew it wasn't there because of embarrassment or strain. He froze as she began to speak. All he could do was stand there and listen as she poured her heart out.

First, she sniffled a little, her cheeks flushing a bit more. "Did you know that Inuyasha loves sunsets?"

Minoru made no move; he just stood and watched her.

She licked her lips. "He's loved them since he was a little boy. Once, when we were camping, and you and – I'm sorry, _Miroku_ and _Sango_ had gone in another direction… he told me the entire story." She released a soft, bitter laugh, running her thumb along a key on the piano. "I don't even remember _what_ really brought it up… He just started telling me about his mother." She stopped for a moment, shaking her head. "He, um… He really loved her. His mother, I mean. Yikes, did he love her. And… I was _so_… girlishly excited that he was sharing all of this with me!"

Kagome pressed down on the piano key, and the light, pretty noise filled the large room. Minoru took a deep breath, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He was sure he was in for a long while of this.

"Izayoi-hime loved sunsets, so Inuyasha decided, as a little boy, that he did too. He loved anything she loved, and that included gold and yellow flowers, puppies, and books along with the sunsets."

Minoru smiled at that; he found it very difficult to imagine the brash hanyou, who normally reeked of masculinity, going all gushy over flowers and rainbows.

Kagome paid him no heed, though, and continued. "After the well closed and I lost the first baby… I sat every day for over a month, watching the sunsets as they came and went. And – _practically every single day_, I would ask the Kamis… Why? Why can't I be like the sunset – perfect and beautiful and… and something that he loves no matter what?" The former priestess finally raised tear-filled brown eyes to meet his, and Minoru's insides clenched at the look in her eyes. Her hands rose to cradle her large belly, and they both looked down at it.

"They'll be beautiful, though," she murmured, and Minoru looked up at her. She still stared down at her stomach, the most peaceful and joyous look he'd ever seen residing on her face. "And, even if Inuyasha doesn't love them… I will. No matter what."

Minoru blinked at her. "You're not seriously thinking that he would ever abandon you or your kids, Kagome."

She didn't answer him.


	16. It Pours

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Fifteen: …It Pours…

_His bright eyes were green and perfect. I knew he was looking me over, judging me, taking in my appearance; whatever you like to call it, this brightly-colored boy was observing me much more closely than many a male had before. It made me both nervous and excited, which I knew wasn't a very good combination after the morning I'd had._

_Shippo was very sweet and sincere as he helped me out of the Western Palace; Sesshomaru's daughter had knocked my knee out, and I knew that _Okaa-san_ would have a fit when I returned finally to the _okiya_. _

_As we walked through Asakusa in silence, I looked at Shippo about as much as he looked at me. We were both trying desperately to be discreet – which wasn't working at all, since both of us are as blunt as a tactless joke. Finally, about a block from the _okiya_, Shippo finally worked up the nerve to let me know what he thought of my appearance. I had to smile at his shyness, and it intrigued me that he seemed about my age and was Inuyasha's son._

_It pleased me to know end when we began to actually hold a conversation, and I realized shortly that he had a much finer way with his words than his _Otou-san_, and, though he did curse, it was much less frequent and not near as offensive as his father._

_As we walked the short distance to the _okiya_, he let me know that he was, in fact, adopted – adopted by Inuyasha and his late wife, a wonderful young woman known as Kagome. He told me the story – a very edited version – of how Inuyasha came to be so heartbrokenly single. He never really said anything definitive, but I could tell by the sound of his words how much both he and Inuyasha adored this Kagome. He smiled so sweetly as he described whatever he could recall of his adoptive mother, and I knew from the beginning that there was much, much more to his story than he was letting on at the time._

_But I like to think that I am a patient woman. So I just smiled at him, nodding at all of the appropriate moments, and enjoyed the time spent with Shippo. He was a good soul, and he had a very caring way about him. _

_He was such a fresh change from the perverted businessman that were always poking and prodding me as though I were some common prostitute._

_When I returned to the _okiya_, Mother was, of course, very upset by my long absence; however, she immediately perked up when she received Sesshomaru-sama's payment for my time and "services" – and also when she took notice of Shippo. She knew who the red-haired, green-eyed boy was – nearly everyone in Tokyo took notice of Taisho Shippo. He was so very exotic, with his unruly, flame-colored hair, his china-pale skin, and his bright, beautiful jade eyes. The only ones who seemed to be even more exotic than he were the infamous Taisho brothers, Shippo's adoptive father and uncle, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru._

_Mother began to hope that Shippo would ask to be my _danna_ soon – as his father had done for Keiko. Mother always said that that was the best relationship that a _geisha_ could hope to have, and that Keiko was damn lucky to have one that was so kind and good to her. Mother always complained that Keiko was going to ruin her chances – and quite possibly her life – if she continued to date that man that Inuyasha allowed her to see._

_You see, the relationship between Inuyasha and my sister, I knew, was very, very complicated. He had some deeply seeded feelings for her, feelings that no one – not even the great Inuyasha – could possibly hope to ever fully understand._

_Keiko cared for him – hell, you could even go so far as to say that she absolutely adored him! But I knew that she did not love him. It was plain as day, and I always thought that, on some level, Inuyasha understood that. He knew that she didn't love him the way he seemed to love her… or the way his Kagome had loved him._

_They were the best of friends, though, my sister and her Inuyasha. They seemed to tell each other _everything_, and they had a very close bond, despite the lack of romantic involvement._

_A few months passed by with visits from Shippo occurring every week or so. He was quite persistent, my suitor, and he showered me with compliments, gifts, and adoration. I still own several of the gifts he gave me when he was courting me: jade combs, silk _kimonos_ of every color and style, pieces of fine, beautiful jewelry. Above all, he was always so wonderful to me, and he treated me with a very high level of dignity and respect – a first for me._

_After he had been seeing me at the teahouse for about six months, I started to feel what he was surely feeling – the passion between us escalated slowly during that time, and our bond grew from friendship to romance, and finally to something more. I had always dreamed of love, but this… This connection that formed between myself and Shippo… It was something that I never knew existed, not even in fairytales. Such a beautiful and pure feeling could not be wrong, I knew._

_So when I was called to the teahouse one evening in late September, nearly a year after meeting Taisho Shippo, to meet with a "very important guest." The lady of the teahouse was instructed to say nothing further than that._

_Of course, Mother was gushing with excitement; she just _knew _that Shippo was meeting me there to ask me formally to be my _danna_._

_I was nervous. I wasn't sure if I wanted to accept; it killed me to say it, to even _think_ it, but I wanted so much more from him. It would break my heart to have only a tiny bit of his life. So many _geisha_ resigned themselves to this same sort of simple life, the ones that all went in the same order: they entertain at teahouses and events, then they meet a good man, they get close to that good man, they allow that man to become their _danna_, then they watch as that same good man that they care so much for marries another, a woman completely undeserving of his purity and sweet disposition._

_I loved Shippo with all of my heart – and possibly more. To see myself become only half his wife would be more painful than saying no from the beginning. So I steeled my resolve as Mother patted my _obi_, completing my ensemble for the evening. If Shippo asked to be my _danna_, I would say no. Mother would just have to deal with it._

_However… my Shippo has always been one to go against the so-called "trend," just as his father was prone to doing. Inuyasha allowed my sister to have a romantic relationship with another man – and Masaru was quite the sweetheart, from what I could tell from our few meetings._

_Shippo took that defiance of theirs one step further._

_Instead of asking to be my _danna_, he presented me with a beautiful, thin silver band and the very hopeful question: "Will you marry me?"_

_At first, I didn't take him seriously. I mean, how could I? It was not my place as a _geisha _to marry so fine a man as he, and I knew that _Okaa-san_ would be furious if I accepted. She would not give her blessing, and she would probably disown me for being a disgrace and leaving my profession and beliefs in such a blatant manner._

_But… Shippo kept watching me with those bright, hopeful eyes, those eyes that held the soul that had become so deeply connected to my own… And I knew that he was being true to me. He wanted me – all of me, and, somehow, I just knew that his family would be absolutely fine with his decision, no matter my societal status. It was a comforting feeling… and with that feeling burning in my belly, I threw my future into Shippo's arms – I agreed to forfeit my life as a _geisha_ and become his wife._

_As expected, Mother was very displeased, and I was disowned within the week._

_Within two weeks, I was Taisho Ko, reverting back to my original name from my life before I was a _geisha_._

_Keiko, of course, was stunned when she learned of my decision. To her, I had always seemed to love the life we were leading, despite the difficulties that we both faced as children in the _Tanaka okiya_. At last, we were both free, though, and we could lead the lives that little girls always dream of._

_When the war began, Shippo and I moved around quite a bit with Inuyasha and the rest of the family. Rin and I never did get back on the right foot, but Aiko and I finally made up and became decent friends. The other children never had a problem with me, and most of the tension dissipated when Shippo and I had our first kit, a red-haired, grey-eyed boy we named Kaji._

_As a war raged on outside the Western walls, our family prospered… but my sister and I could not speak. She was still a _geisha_, and as such, she needed protection. Inuyasha had sent her to a very secret place, and he was convinced that they would take good care of her. They wrote back and forth, though, for around two years; that seemed sometimes to be the highlight of Inuyasha's month, receiving Keiko's letter. Wherever she was, she was very happy, it seemed – and my sister's happiness made Inuyasha happy._

_And then – that day came…_

* * *

Ayana quirked an eyebrow as she knelt down to eye level with Kagome's protruding stomach. "Hmm." Kagome watched her carefully, a little put off by all the strange, pondering noises that her _kumo_ doctor was making, and Minoru just stood off to the side, arms crossed over his chest, and making the ever-obnoxious "I told you so" face. She felt the intense urge to tell him to shut the fuck up, despite the fact that he hadn't yet said anything.

She stepped back. "The pregnancy is moving along more quickly than we expected, Kagome," she let the new mother know, allowing her to sit up on the table. "Your daughter is very close to being completely ready for life outside the womb – however! Your son is still a little behind in growth, and it worries both of us. He has an active mind, however, which leads me to believe that, no matter how developed he is at birth by this point, that he will survive. His twin will aid him."

At that Minoru rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, Kagome's cell phone began to ring, and she tried to get off the table to answer it. Minoru beat her to it, flipping it open and pressing the device to his ear. "Hello?" he breathed into the receiver.

His eyes widened as he listened to the person on the other end, and he nodded, wrapping up the conversation quickly and snapping the phone shut before looking Kagome straight in the eye. "Inuyasha is on his way home from the airport right now. He has some company coming – and he'd like to know why a male is answering his wife's phone."

Kagome rolled her eyes and groaned. "He's such a male," she mumbled as Ayana and Minoru worked together to help her off the table and to her feet. As soon as she was mobile again, Kagome had set off to grab her purse and start for the door.

"Remember!" Ayana called after them as Minoru walked at her side down the narrow corridor of the office. "_Youkai_ pregnancies don't last as long as humans'! Your little boy may just need to spend a couple weeks at the hospital with me!" The two of them completely missed the doctor's rueful smirk.

* * *

Inuyasha glared at the cell phone in his hand as Suzume watched the road closely. She kept glancing his way, wondering about his sudden gruffness.

He growled. "Why the _fuck_ is a fuckin' _dude_ answering my wife's phone?"

Suzume blinked. "A – A guy?" she stammered as a strange feeling flooded her suddenly. She had a very peculiar, gut feeling that it was not just any "dude" who answered Kagome's cell phone; there was no real reason she should feel this way – she just did.

Determined to quench these overwhelming emotions, Suzume floored it. She was ready to see him again.

* * *

Next time:

Chapter Sixteen: …And Pours.


	17. And Pours

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Seventeen: …And Pours.

Inuyasha and Suzume's arrival was, as Kagome and Minoru had both anticipated, dramatic. But as the two musicians entered the foyer, their soul mates waiting for them in the living room, emotions immediately began to run even higher than they'd expected. It started, obviously, with Inuyasha.

As soon as he stepped in the front door, the _inuhanyou_ took a big whiff of the air inside his home. "Who the _fuck_ is here, Kagome?" he demanded, storming across the tile floor with Suzume in tow.

Kagome had been about to let him know about her pregnancy – as soon as his aggressive words reached her ears, however, she changed her mind. "What are you _talking _about, Inuyasha?" she hollered back, climbing to her feet as Minoru began to protest. He, too, rose from his seat as Inuyasha entered the room, his eyes instantly falling on the _hanyou_'s companion. His breath caught as he stared at her, his mind bouncing back and forth between memory and reality against his will.

_Could it really be her?_ Minoru asked himself as the young woman stepped around Inuyasha to get a better look at him.

"Sango?" he breathed, his eyes wide as he took in her altered appearance.

She blinked, looking him over as well. "It's Suzume now," she answered, stepping toward him. "And you are…?"

The doctor swallowed, his nerves finally catching up with him. "Minoru," he replied in a small voice, breaking out into a large, relieved smile. Hesitating, he held out his hand to shake hers. Suzume teased her tongue ring with her teeth for a moment as she stared down at his outstretched hand, contemplating her next move.

Suddenly, she looked up, right into his violet eyes. Eyes that were astoundingly and frighteningly identical to those that haunted her most loved dreams… Ignoring his hand, Suzume threw her arms around her soul mate's neck, hugging him tight. Minoru blinked, his mouth hung open in surprise, before he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, squeezing her gently.

Inuyasha and Kagome watched the strange exchange, both of them startled and shocked. "What the hell just happened?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

"I think we just reunited Sango and Miroku without even knowing it," Kagome answered, blinking again.

Finally Inuyasha turned to her, looking her up and down. "And what the fuck is this?" he cried out, gesturing to her protruding belly.

She turned to face him, leaving Suzume and Minoru to their reunion bliss. Kagome glared up into her husband's golden eyes, which were glimmering intensely with anger and confusion. "I'm pregnant," she shot back, her tone saying plainly that the fact was obvious.

He snorted. "No shit, wench. I mean, when the fuck did it happen?"

"Would you _stop_ cursing at me!"

"No! Now fucking tell me what the fuck is fucking going on here!" He growled. "Fuck!"

Kagome was quickly turning red. "I'm being serious," she said in a low tone. "You better wise up, Inuyasha, and shut your sailor's trap before I shut it for you!"

He sneered, the expression most unbecoming on his normally handsome features. "And why should I?" he asked in an equally low voice, leaning down until his face was a breath's width away from hers.

The former priestess groaned, rolling her eyes. "Because the twins will hear you, baka!" she mouthed off.

Inuyasha blinked, his lips parting and his eyes widening. "Wh-what?" he stuttered.

Kagome's expression softened as her anger dissipated. "Inuyasha… Rin and I tried contacting you while you were on tour, but we couldn't ever reach you! I found out about five weeks after you left…" She smiled up at him, reaching forward and taking his wrist in her hands. Inuyasha stood stock-still and limp, allowing her to press the right palm of his hand against the swell of her belly. His chest tightened as he held his breath, staring at the rather large baby bump that his long-estranged wife now sported.

"We're having a boy and a girl," Kagome continued. His eyes shot up, meeting hers in stunned silence. "Our son will be human, with spiritual powers like mine. Our daughter will be _hanyou_, like you, the doctor said."

Inuyasha stepped back unconsciously, obviously startled by this new information. "B-but how? How can we have a… A _human_ son…?" Kagome watched as realization dawned, and she couldn't stop the gentle smile that spread across her lips. "My human night," he murmured, staring down at Kagome's enlarged tummy. "My human night helped you create a human child?" He was stunned to his very core. To think that he had given his son a life that he couldn't have had… His heart and soul both swelled up so much with pride that he felt as if his chest would explode.

They both looked to Suzume and Minoru, who were now watching the exchange with nearly identical smirks. Inuyasha and Kagome both shared the same sheepish expression.

Then Kagome's face fell, and her eyes widened. Stepping back from her husband, she shook her right leg, blinking at the liquid mess at her feet.

"Uh…"

Next Time:

Chapter Eighteen: Idle Threats.


	18. Idle Threats

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Eighteen: Idle Threats.

"Uh…"

Inuyasha and Kagome both just blinked at her feet, which were covered with soaked, white socks. Soaked with what, they weren't entirely sure.

Minoru, however, was completely sure. His violet eyes widened, and he grabbed Suzume's wrist. "Kagome!" he cried out, completely startled. "That's – that's your water!"

She stared at him. "Minoru, what-?"

He looked directly at Inuyasha, whose golden eyes were equally wide. "The babies?" the _hanyou_ asked.

"Yes! Kagome's water just broke! The twins are coming!"

Kagome's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "N-nani?" she stammered, still in shock at their words.

"Come on!" Minoru hollered, pulling Suzume to the front door of the relative mansion. Inuyasha, catching his old friend's meaning, swooped down with inhuman speed, scooping his wife up into his arms and flying out the door with her, never hearing her surprised squeak.

Suzume and Minoru jumped into Inuyasha's car; the _hanyou_ yelled to them, "Go! Go on! I'll run – it'll be faster!"

Kagome stared up into her husband's determined face, her eyes wide. "Inuyasha no baka! Don't you dare take to those-" She cut herself off with a loud scream as he took off at a run, crouching low for barely a moment before springing himself and Kagome upward, his claws barely biting into the skin of her thighs and shoulder through her blue jeans and blouse. She blinked, ending her scream just as she felt the gentle thud of his feet finding the wooden roof of the neighbor's home. Sighing, Kagome finished in a low tone, "Rooftops."

She heard her husband's snicker right above her; looking up, she smiled at the familiar glint of adventure in his eyes. "Funny wench," he murmured into her hair as his face lowered, his nose becoming buried in the sweet-smelling locks. His eyes, however, remained on his path, and he sprang again, landing with practiced ease on the next roof.

"Does it feel good to finally get some exercise, ya old fart?" Kagome asked with a sly smile.

She relished the rumbling in Inuyasha's chest the signaled his deep chuckle. "Keh," he whispered, his breath hot against the tender skin of her scalp. "You just wait 'til you pop them young 'uns out, Ka-Go-Me. I'll show you old."

"Hm," she mused with a smirk. "I'll bet."

He snickered again. "Keh."

Finally at ease, Kagome let herself get comfortable in his close grip, deciding that it was about time she enjoyed the ride.

The rest of their trip was in complete silence, though it only lasted about three more minutes; as usual, Inuyasha was perfect in his timing. As soon as he leapt down from the last rooftop, landing them both safe and sound in the hospital parking lot, the first contraction hit Kagome. Inuyasha nearly dropped her in surprise at her shrill, agonized shriek, and she panted loudly as he hurried into the ER with her still in his arms.

"Hey!" he yelled roughly at a nearby nurse, holding back the insane urge to growl at her. "Help us here! My wife is in labor!"

The nurse came running forward; it took his nose a second to realize that this was, in fact, a _youkai_ hospital. This nurse was another _inuhanyou_. He blinked at her as he stuttered a half-assed apology for his rudeness while the young woman helped Kagome into a wheelchair.

The girl, who had sparkling green eyes, just smiled up at him. Inuyasha faintly noticed that her scrubs were the same bright green. "It's no problem," she answered, taking hold of the back of Kagome's wheelchair; Inuyasha held his wife's hand firmly in his own, looking down at her instead of the _hanyou_ nurse. "After all, it's not every day a man becomes a father."

Inuyasha turned and looked over his shoulder at her, and it suddenly hit him what this moment meant – and he hadn't even been able to fully prepare himself for it. Twenty minutes ago, he was just another angry husband, about to make the mistake of chewing his wife out for something she never had any inclination to do…

Now, he was a father. Had been for some time, without ever knowing it.

Both pride and terror struck him square in his gut, and Inuyasha was at a loss as to what to do as he kept walking.

Right then, Kagome squeezed his hand as another harsh contraction ripped its way through her torso, and she let out a pained squeal. Inuyasha stared down at her tiny hand as it clasped onto his own, her stubby fingernails digging crescent-shaped marks into the back of his hand. It hurt, but there was no way he would tell her to stop. He realized right then that this was what he was here for – to help her through this.

No matter what, he wouldn't leave her to deal with the consequences of his stupidity again.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out, snapping him away from his thoughts. "Yeah, Kagome?" he asked her as the nurse led them both into a maternity room. Kagome leaned forward, taking her husband's hand with her, and she used her other hand to press against her horrendously aching back. She suddenly became lost in her physical pain, and Inuyasha blinked at her.

"Kagome?" he asked. "Kagome?"

No answer. She just sat in the wheelchair and breathed.

"Oi! Wench!"

Her eyes snapped open, glaring up at him. "What, Inuyasha no baka?" she yelled back.

With a grumpy expression, he gestured to the stirrups. Kagome blinked in surprise as she stared at them, and the nurse giggled lightly behind her. Husband and wife turned to shoot the nurse a death glare, and the young _hanyou_ snuck out of the room to find a doctor.

Inuyasha sighed and took Kagome's arm, helping her out of the wheelchair. Just as she was climbing to her feet, Minoru burst in the door behind them, followed very closely by Suzume. Both humans were out of breath, but the doctor went immediately to a drawer and pulled out a polka-dotted hospital gown. He held it out to Kagome, who grudgingly took it as she stooped over, holding her enlarged stomach and heaving into the trash can.

"That's perfectly normal," Minoru told Inuyasha, who shot the doctor a worried glance. "Her body's going through a great deal of stress right now, and it's just trying to right itself. Don't worry; the sickness will pass."

Suzume snorted nearby. "Yeah, and then there'll just be mind-numbing pain to look forward." Inuyasha glared at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Thank you so much for your support, um…" Kagome trailed off, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she met the vocalist's eyes.

"Suzume," she answered. "Didn't I say that already?"

Kagome chuckled at that, despite her current situation. "You sound just like her…" she muttered with a smile. "Always had an attitude." Suzume smiled back at that, and the two women shared an intimate moment of camaraderie.

Until it was shattered by another contraction tearing through Kagome, and the former Miko threw her head back, gritting her teeth and crying out sharply.

"Put the damn gown on, wench!" Inuyasha shot at her, and she glared at him as tears sprang to her eyes. "But then everyone'll see my butt!" she cried out.

The _hanyou_'s eyes narrowed. "Kagome, get your ass into the damn gown and then get your ass up in those stirrups!"

"What if I don't?" she said defiantly.

He was about to lose his cool. "Dammit, woman, this isn't the time for you to grow a backbone! You're having a pair of babies right now! Just settle your laboring ass down, get into that damned hospital gown, ass-baring be damned, and get in those stirrups!"

Kagome stared at him a moment before nodding, and she began to change.

While she changed, Inuyasha helped her, and Minoru and Suzume went through the room setting it up for the birth. While they did, Minoru checked his watch when he heard Kagome's bite out another shrill scream. "The contractions shouldn't be this close together," he told them. "We need to get her up here _now_ and see where we're at."

Finally, Kagome was in the dreaded hospital gown, and Inuyasha helped her up onto the exam table, her feet settling quite naturally into the stirrups. Minoru draped a sheet across her lap, covering her thighs, knees, and most of her calves. He peeked underneath as Inuyasha took his rightful spot beside Kagome.

The doctor resurfaced with widened eyes. "I can see silver hair!" he yelled enthusiastically, a grin popping onto his amazed face.

"Kamis!" Kagome hollered. "Inuyasha, Kamis! It _burns_!"

"That's good, Kagome-chan!" Minoru called to her. "Just – when the next contraction hits you – _Push_!"

Kagome cried out again, this time a more concentrated, determined noise. Inuyasha watched, enraptured, as her face scrunched up and flushed an even deeper shade of red than ever before. "Doc, what the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

"She's crowning, Inuyasha!" Minoru yelled back. "Come on, Kagome! _Push_!"

She groaned before crying out again, and that same, determined look crossed her face again. "I'm _pushing_!" she screamed back.

"What the hell does that mean, she's crowning?" Inuyasha wanted to know, his voice still raised.

"_Chou baka desu yo, ne_?" Suzume roared over Kagome's loud cries. Inuyasha just glared at his fellow musician, who glared right back. "Crowning means that the baby's head is just about out, you _baka_!"

"Well, you could'a just _said_ that, instead of calling me stupid and being a rude bitch about it!"

"Gods, _shut up_!" Kagome bellowed angrily as she continued to push. "As it stands, Inuyasha, you are never – and I mean, _never_ – receiving sex _ever_ again – and you're seriously grating on my nerves and ruining my concentration! So – _both_ of you – shut the _fuck _up!"

Both Inuyasha and Suzume stood there on opposite sides of her, staring slack-jawed at Kagome. Everyone could hear Minoru chuckling from the other side of Kagome's knees. "You gotta love idle threats," he commented, smirking upon raising his head and seeing Inuyasha's priceless expression.

"I don't make idle threats," Kagome responded through gritted teeth as she felt another contraction coming.

"Okay, Kagome-chan," Minoru told her. "One last push, and then-"

She released a loud, feral snarl as she pushed, and Minoru pulled back a few seconds later, meeting Inuyasha's eyes. "Go get a nurse," he told Suzume, who nodded and immediately ran from the room. "Inuyasha has a daughter."

Stunned to his core, he and Kagome both looked over the girl. She was big, and her face turned an angry red as she opened her mouth and let out a piercing cry. Inuyasha was floored to see a pair of twitching _koinu_ ears amid her mop of silvery hair.

Kagome was breathing heavily as her body took a momentary break. "Inuyasha," she whispered. He bent down, catching her lips with his own in a quick kiss. "Inuyasha, that's Moriko," she told him with a smile. He smiled back as he pulled her hand, still entwined with his own, and held it to his heart. They both watched as a nurse came in and took the rather large and obviously healthy baby girl from Minoru's hands.

Suddenly, there moment of peace was interrupted by another harsh contraction nearly ripping Kagome in two. Surprised, Minoru returned to his spot between the stirrups, and his eyes widened. "Such impatient children, you two! You're crowning again, Kagome-chan!"

She only grunted as she pushed once more; Inuyasha was surprised to lean over her knees and watch as a tiny, tiny baby slid out with ease, landing securely in Minoru's gloved hands. Their son was especially tiny compared to his sister, and he had Kagome's midnight hair.

"Kaji," the former Miko whispered as her husband stared at his new son. It took a few moments of prodding on Minoru's part, but the boy finally made a disgruntled face of his own and began screaming his head off.

Minoru breathed a sigh of relief, allowing a nurse to take the younger twin off to be cleaned, weighed, and measured. "I was worried that he wouldn't be fully developed," he explained to Inuyasha. "He was so far behind Moriko in terms of prenatal growth…" The doctor shook his head with a smile. "But he's fine. Both of your kids have great sets of lungs on 'em."

Inuyasha chuckled, patting his shoulder. "Thanks, _bouzu_, for taking care of her while I was away."

Minoru smirked. "Thanks for bringing _her_ back to me." He gestured at the door to Suzume, who was gushing over the infants in the nurses' arms.

The two men stood there, surrounded by gooey gushy women and the babies they loved to coo over. Turning, they noticed that Kagome had since passed out on the exam table.

"No problem, man," Inuyasha said, grinning. Minoru laughed at the sight. "No problem."

The next day, Kagome awoke with just Inuyasha at her side. Within minutes, the nurses, flanked by Minoru and Suzume, brought the babies in, first laying Moriko in Kagome's arms and showing Kagome the proper way to breastfeed. As Moriko latched onto her mother's breast and began to feed, she blinked amethyst eyes up at Kagome, and Inuyasha marveled at the tiny bitch's intense beauty.

"She has my mother's eyes," he mused in a soft tone. Kagome smiled at him.

After a few more mintues, Moriko was finished; as Inuyasha burped her, the nurses laid the younger twin, Kaji, into his mother's arms. As he fed, he kept his eyes closed; it was a very peaceful expression, but Kagome wanted to see if he had Inuyasha's eyes. So she leaned down, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Kaji?" she whispered, her lips brushing against the soft, sweet-smelling skin of the baby's forehead. "Kaji, it's Mama. Open your eyes, baby." She sighed, closing her own. "Let me see your eyes."

"He will in time, Kagome-chan!"

She looked up and at the door when she heard the new voice; Ko and Shippo stood there, both looking as though they were about to burst with happiness.

"Hey!" Inuyasha said. "See there! Ko was right!"

Kagome looked back down at her son – who lay there, nursing, and blinking wide, grey eyes up at her.

She blinked down at him, cold surprise flooding her. "Inuyasha?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Why does our son have Ko's eyes?"

When she looked up, she saw the look Inuyasha and Ko shared; they looked like a pair of children caught red-handed. Inuyasha looked back at her, his golden eyes wide and bright.

"Well…"

Next time:

Chapter Nineteen: We Swing and We Sway…


	19. We Swing and We Sway

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Nineteen: We Swing and We Sway…

I know this sounds clichéd, but the sun was high in the sky when I finally returned to the Sunset Shrine. It had been a good three years since I had last spoken to Keiko, though she and her sister had kept up consistent communication. Her letters were always addressed to me, though, since Shippo was completely appalled at the fact that his new wife and mate had never before seen the vast world outside Tokyo. Keiko was never completely sure of where her sister and brother-in-law were in the world, so she just sent the gooey, gushy letters to the Western Palace, addressed to yours truly; she was quite confident in my ability to track down the adventurous twosome and make sure that Ko received her correspondence.

I never read the letters until several years later, when Ko gave them to me. The silly woman was convinced that they'd mean more to me than they would to her.

Completely ignorant of the contents of aforementioned letters, I marched right up those steep shrine steps and under that _torii_, perfectly ready to reclaim my _geisha_ best friend. I tried to never let on to anyone else in the family how much I missed her; Keiko just always had this _way_ about her that reeked of pluck and confidence. She reminded me so much of you, Kagome…

When I entered the main grounds of the shrine, the Head Priest met me with a respectful bow. "_Konnichiwa_, Taisho-san," the older man greeted me, straightening.

I inclined my head to him, smiling faintly. It was becoming more and more difficult to contain my enthusiasm at seeing Keiko once again. I was just excited to have my friend back.

"_Konnichiwa_, Higurashi-san."

The priest's blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at me, obviously amused by my uncharacteristic politeness. "You seem to be in good spirits this day, my friend," he told me as he led me through the grounds to the small, main house where the family lived. I entered behind him, and he led me through the quaint home to the sitting room, where his wife, an older Miko, served us hot tea with a smile.

The old priest took a sip before looking to me once more. "I have a question for you, my old friend," he told me.

"As you know," he began, looking my directly in the eyes. "My son is in line to take over management of this shrine, which has been in our family for generations."

I nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"And your _geisha_ absolutely adores it here."

Something inside me clenched at his words. They were simple yet thought-provoking, though I wasn't sure yet what I should think.

The old priest sighed with a smile. A _proud_ smile. "And my son absolutely adores your _geisha_."

Whatever had tightened inside me released right then, and I just felt… _numb_. It hit me what he was getting at.

"As the boy should," I commented, taking a drink from my own cup. "Masaru has hit the jackpot with Keiko."

Higurashi Sachi grinned. "Inuyasha," he said quite informally. "My family has guarded the secrets of your family and the Goshinboku for centuries – but we do so out of honor and respect. Do not feel as though you owe us this."

"I do not." I met his eyes evenly. "Keiko loves one man – and it is not me. I am familiar with this fact, and Masaru is a good, decent man. He will make a good priest – I am just worried that Keiko will not make a good Miko."

Sachi chuckled. "She has already helped my good wife around the home and around the shrine so much. She is as if one of our own already. These past three years have really brought she and Masaru closer together."

I sighed, staring down at my half-empty teacup. "And, as her _danna_, you need my permission to bind your son to her in marriage."

Sachi bowed his head, still smiling. "You know the situation too well, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, well, I'm not a complete dumbass."

He laughed, a loud, hearty sound that filled the room. "There's the Inuyasha I've known since I was a boy."

Finally, I cracked a smile with him. "I give my permission." Shrugging, I added, "How could I not? If Keiko says yes to Masaru's proposal, then so will I."

Sachi stood slowly, and left the room. I remained there, sitting, wondering what the hell I had done.

Just days later, Sesshomaru and I were sitting in on the Taisho-Higurashi wedding at the Sunset Shrine. He and Rin were beginning to finally get over his infidelity; it helped that Ko and Shippo were out and about. I think they were in France at the time of Keiko's marriage to Masaru. Aiko and Kaoru sat beside me. Kaori and the boys sat on the other side of Sesshomaru.

It was, of course, a beautiful ceremony, and Masaru, I knew, was just the man to turn her from the _geisha _Keiko into the wife Jun. That day, she shed the name Taisho Keiko and became Higurashi Jun.

As I hugged her close, I still had no idea what I'd done.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty: …As This Tiny Voice in My Head Starts to Sing…


	20. As This Tiny Voice in My Head Starts

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty: …As This Tiny Voice in My Head Starts to Sing…

It was only one more year before the Higurashi clan grew. Jun and Masaru named their new son Higurashi Sachi after Masaru's father, and it seemed to fit the boy unnaturally well. He was very much like his grandfather: quiet manner, witty sense of humor, calm yet fun-loving disposition. Hell, he even had the old man's blue eyes!

I visited the family on-again, off-again over the next few years. From up close and afar, I watched as little Sachi grew, and his parents' marriage flourished. They really were the perfect pair, Masaru and Jun, and seeing their relationship thrive so completely both warmed my heart – and broke it.

I had always known that Jun would make an excellent mother; seeing the way she was with Sachi overwhelmed me with pride. She just had this laid-back _way_ about her that wasn't there during her days spent as a _geisha_.

As Taisho Keiko, she wasn't allowed to really be _herself_. Whenever she went out somewhere, either Masaru or myself needed to accompany her. She never cooked or cleaned for herself, and she never had any privacy, any real, quality time to herself. Keiko was an individual spirit, and she never had any real hope for a life all her own – or the love that could come with it.

Now, though, as Higurashi Jun, she had a new lease on life – and she made sure to take advantage of it. She filled it to the brim with love, laughter, happiness, and family. She used her newfound freedom to love her husband and raise her son.

Miko-life was a good life for her.

I'm still not sure why it was I didn't notice that something was wrong sooner. Maybe my mixed feelings toward her happiness blinded me; maybe it was her happiness itself that blinded me.

No matter what it was, I still berate myself for not being more open-minded to the idea of tragedy striking.

Of course, at the time, I still had no idea what I'd done, what a mess I'd made.

We were in a park in _Asakusa_ when she told me the news. Sitting on a bench, we watched as Sachi ran and laughed and played with the other children.

"There's a reason I asked you to come with me today," she started, a slight smile on her lips. I glanced at her for barely a second before returning my gaze to the small group of boys roughhousing on the grass nearby.

"I know," was my only response.

I caught her smirk in the corner of my eye before she continued, "I'm sick, Inuyasha."

My head snapped to the side, and I blinked at her. "Do you need to go home, Jun?" I asked her, concern leaking into my voice. "If you're sick, you should go home and rest; I'll watch Sachi while he plays and bring him home when he's finished."

Jun only smiled at me, chuckling. Her eyes twinkled with a strange combination of sadness and amusement. "I'm not that kind of sick, Inuyasha. This sort of illness won't pass with a little rest."

I watched her, still very confused by this point.

She sighed, looking down at her clasped hands. I guess she just couldn't look me in the eye when her next words left her lips: "I've got cancer, Inuyasha."

My eyes widened as my heart sank suddenly. I held my breath for a good minute, maybe longer, my mind racing. "What kind?" I asked, barely breathing as I stared at her.

Jun flushed a pretty pink color, still looking everywhere but at me. "I'd rather not say," she murmured.

I huffed. "Well, why the fuck not?"

Her head turned, eyes flashing dangerously as they finally met my own. "Because it's private, Inuyasha _no baka_!" she snapped back at me, and I stood, still reeling from the new information.

A thought struck me suddenly as I began to pace a little. "Does Masaru know?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I just found out yesterday," she replied softly, gentle tears glimmering in her deep brown eyes. Looking at her, I had to keep reminding myself that she wasn't you, Kagome – this wasn't you, my own wife and soul mate, informing me of your upcoming death.

It was Masaru's.

When she finally told him, I knew he'd be crushed.

I came back to myself when I felt her small hand slip into my own. Startled, my own eyes zeroed in on her face once again, and I just sat back down beside her and stared as she smiled at me.

"I wanted to tell you first because you are special to me, Inuyasha," she said. "I have kept your secret – and the secret of your family – for many years, and in return you have protected me so fully. I… I just wanted to see if you would protect my family as you have protected me."

I was about to say something when a soccer ball smacked me roughly in the left cheek. Both of us looked at the group of boys running to the other side of the playground.

"Yeah, Sachi, you better run!" I called to the blue-eyed menace, who had ducked quickly behind a thick tree trunk. "I'll get you later, little man!"

Turning back to the boy's mother, I made a face at her grin just as a joyful laugh escaped her. "What's so funny?" I demanded gruffly.

Jun shook her head. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha!" she said, still laughing. "It's just that – Well, the thought of what you'd be yelling at him if he were a girl crossed my mind, and it was just funny. That's all."

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "And what would that be?"

"What?"

"What would I be yelling at him if he were a girl?"

Jun blinked. "Oh," she said, still wearing a small smile. "We would have named him – and any other daughter we'd had – after my mother. Higurashi Kagome."

I froze upon hearing that name. I honestly hadn't expected anything like that to be the name that Jun and Masaru had wanted to name their daughter. It just… I mean, _come on_. What were the odds?

"Well, Masaru and I were intending to have more children… but now that this has come up…" She stopped, and I could practically taste the sadness in her tone.

As she continued, my mind whirled in circles around all this new information for it to soak up, and I was beginning to feel like vomiting. Something in my gut told me I'd done something very bad – not just by committing adultery and, in some views, cheating on you, Kagome.

Something was off.

Suddenly, as Jun went on about the children she wished that she and Masaru had the time to have, it hit me like a ton of bricks. As I sat there, I held my breath, staring at her out of the corner of my eye.

_It can't be_…

She looked exactly like you… The warm brown eyes, the sleek hair, the small nose and heart-shaped face with its rounded cheeks, high cheekbones, and sharp chin… Hell, she even _sounded_ somewhat like you.

She married a Higurashi priest… They made it a family tradition to name their children after relatives… Her mother's name was Kagome, meaning a daughter in the future generations would be named Kagome…

All this time, I'd thought Keiko – or Jun – was the spitting image of you, Kagome.

It turns out that _you're_ the spitting image of _her_.

The _geisha_ I fell in love with… was your _Obaasan_.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-One: …You're Safe, Child.


	21. You're Safe, Child

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-One: …You're Safe, Child.

Less than a year later, I found myself standing beside a young boy – a boy I knew would someday grow into the man that would help make my wife the strong, capable woman that I love – at the foot of his mother's grave.

I really had no idea what to say to Sachi as he stood there, crying and staring at the headstone. It had been a long and sad affair, and I wasn't too sure that Sachi had been fully prepared for the loss of his mother. Tradition dictates that it is the eldest son's job to organize the funeral – but he was only seven. Masaru, we all knew, was too much of a wreck, and his mother and father were too old.

So I did it.

I swear it nearly killed me. Jun was a good woman, a _strong_ woman… Seeing her lying in the hospital bed for months and months, wasting away, definitely wasn't good for anyone's health. Not mine, not Masaru's… and sure as hell not Sachi's.

Masaru huddled close to his parents for comfort; I stuck close to the kid the entire way through the wake, the cremation, and the memorial. It took an entire two days to finally lay Jun to rest; the hour-and-a-half it took for the body to fully burn was one of the longest times of my entire life. Sachi and I just sat, side by side, at my Asakusa apartment, in silence for the first little while. Then, after being totally bored and depressed out of our minds, the tyke finally broke the silence:

"Inuyasha?"

I looked at him, my ears swiveling. After Jun's diagnosis, I had let him in on the secret his mama had kept for me for so long – but made him promise to never tell anyone else, not his wife, not even his old man.

I blinked at him. "What's wrong, little man?"

"Why did they put Papa's name on the gravestone beside Mama's?"

I blinked at him again, my throat tightening. "Well…" I licked my lips. My words from here on out needed to be carefully chosen. The kid was sensitive, I knew, and I hoped that I was delicate yet still informative. I stood and crossed the room, sitting beside him and patting his tiny knee with my large hand. "Sachi, did you see how your Papa's name was engraved beside your Mama's and then traced with red ink?"

He nodded, blue eyes trained on the floor.

"Well… That's because…" I sighed. "It's to show everyone how much your Papa loves your Mama."

He finally looked up at me. "You mean, 'loved,' right, Inuyasha?"

For the first time in at least a month, I cracked a smile. My smile was contagious, I guess, because Sachi smiled back at me. "No," I answered, still smiling softly. "No, I meant 'loves.' You see, even though your Mama's not here with us anymore, that doesn't mean that she's gone for good. And nothing could ever stop your Papa from loving her – not even death.

"You see, most people engrave both married people's names onto the gravestone for financial reasons – because they don't have enough money to do it later, when the other person in the marriage dies."

He blinked at me, his smile fading. "But you and Sesshomaru-san paid for Mama's funeral expenses – right, Inuyasha?"

I nodded. "Right, little man. You know what that means?"

Sachi shook his head.

I chuckled as I reached my arm around his small shoulders and hugged him to me, trying to be merry about it. "It means that we didn't put your dad's name next to your mom's on the headstone over money. We did it to show that your mom is waiting for your dad to join her – and that he's waiting to do so."

I watched, slightly astounded, as the look in the boy's eyes changed drastically. They widened just a bit, and the blue in them slowly became clearer and clearer… and then they fogged over again with a rush of tears.

I crushed him to my chest as he started to cry, loud and hard, with sobs overpowering me as well.

Finally, the phone rang, and Masaru was on his way to pick us up for Jun's memorial.

The future kook wasn't doing too well, but I knew the pain would pass. It may take several years, but, eventually, times would be better. I knew there would be a day in the future when Sachi would be grown and get married, and it would be a happy day. And then he would give Masaru a beautiful granddaughter, and, soon after, a healthy son. After that, Masaru would be there to help Sachi's wife take care of the kiddoes, and, eventually, it would reach that wonderful day when I showed up as a punk kid, demanding to steal his granddaughter away for chunks of time so large and erratic that he'd be forced to make her seem like the most contagious leper in history.

As Sachi and I rode in the car with Masaru to the memorial, I couldn't help the smile I cracked at the thought of their future.

Now, if only I could've known my own…

In that future, I stood in a brightly lit hospital room, my ears lain back in overwhelming shame, and the only sounds that filled my ears were of my own heart slowly breaking. I lacked the ability to speak as you, Kagome… _my_ Kagome… just sat there in your bed, staring at me with those wide, shell-shocked brown eyes. I couldn't – _can't_ – stand the emotion in them – the one I put there. You looked so small and frail – and _heartbroken_ – sitting there in your white hospital gown at least a size too big, your hair messy and wispy as it fell down your shoulders and back, your face pale and tear-streaked from hearing the tragic ending to my story.

A story you probably never should have heard…

"Get out," you said, your voice low and feral.

My gut instinct told me to argue, to defy you, to force more information upon you –

But you knew already where I was headed as you snapped at me, "_No_, Inuyasha, no more. I said _get out_!"

My breath whooshed out of my lungs as disappointment and depression settled heavily upon me. Without saying another word, I turned and fled the room as quickly as I could without actually running. I saved that for the stairs; upon reaching the door at the very top of them, I flung it open with fervor, my chest heaving as I held back my broken sobs.

Standing there on the roof for barely a moment, I looked all around me, noting the almost obscene beauty of the night sky, filled with rolling, dark gray clouds and a multitude of bright stars. The air was chilly, and my heavy breath came out in clouds of mist as I turned, my eyes falling on the edge of the rooftop.

The gravel scrambled beneath my feet as I took off at a run, and I practically slammed the sole of my tennis shoe down on the edge of the roof before launching myself into the air, landing quite unceremoniously on the roof of the next building.

The tears finally came as I continued running, leaping from one rooftop to the next, and I let the entire torrent of emotions I'd kept bottled up for more than five hundred years run rampant.

I had no idea if I'd see my Kagome or my babies again; at the moment, that wasn't all that I could think about.

When I came in the front door of my home, I walked briskly through the house to a music room on the second floor. Kagome had been in this very same room several times since our marriage, but she'd never noticed it… after all, I always kept it, leaning, in the corner, and it looks so innocent and inconspicuous…

I burst in the door, and there it sat… Keiko's _shamisen_, old but still beautiful as ever. As I slowly approached it, staring down at the worn, wooden instrument, I bit my lip until it bled, losing myself in memories long dead.

In my mind, there Jun sat, on the edge of Sachi's bed, strumming the _shamisen_ saved over from her _geisha_ days, smiling gently and singing softly to her boy. He always loved the way she played…

I reached forward and firmly grasped the slender neck of the three-stringed instrument, picking it up and folding my arms tightly around it. Without much control over my body, I fell back against the wall and slid down, huddling in the corner the _shamisen_ had until recently occupied. My head fell forward, and I hugged my knees against the backing of the _shamisen_, which was squeezed close my heaving chest.

Unmoving, I allowed my memories to wash me away.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-Two: You are Safe.


	22. You are Safe

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-Two: You are Safe.

Kagome sighed as she crossed the street, remaining on the well-marked crosswalk that guided her and a million other pedestrians across the bustling street. With purse in one hand and cell phone in the other, she flipped the contraption open and dialed a very familiar number.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Kagome."

She smiled. "Hey, Minoru." Her heels made a small sound as she hopped up onto the curb, regaining a good position in the crowd on the sidewalk and started to her left, heading toward the shrine. "Have you been over there today?"

The exasperation in his sigh was tangible, even through the receiver. "Yeah, I checked in on him this morning. He had already made it through half a bottle of scotch before nine; there were quite a few empty bottles of sake and brandy littered throughout the house."

Kagome stopped for a minute, hurrying beneath a nearby stoop outside a shop; she was both surprised and not surprised by this news. It had been three months since she and Inuyasha had last spoken – three months since all of her questions had been answered, since his story had been finished.

It had been three months since she'd last spent any time at all with Ko, since either her husband or her great-aunt had laid eyes or hands on her children. Moriko and Kaji were both growing at excellent rates, and they were a pair of happy, healthy babies. Kaji seemed to be laid-back and rather introverted, as most of the Higurashi's seemed to be – Kagome's _jiijii _excluded, of course. Moriko, however, seemed to have inherited a great deal of her attributes from Inuyasha; she was loud and obnoxious half the time, never wanting to be put down. Kagome's mother was more than happy to oblige the baby girl, and the quarter-demon was already well on her way to being one of the most spoiled children in all of Japan.

After the entire scene in Kagome's hospital room, she had asked Rin to move some of her more essential items to Suzume's surprisingly spacious loft apartment in the middle of Tokyo. It had plenty of extra rooms for the new tenants – Suzume, being the fabulous and well-sponsored musician that she was, made sure that she and her oldest/newest best friend could live peacefully with her in the penthouse of her apartment building.

So Kagome had her own bedroom, the twins had their own, and Suzume had captured the master bedroom – which she shared with Minoru nearly every night now. The doctor still maintained his own apartment, separate from Suzume; dying as Miroku had brought him back in this life as a responsible, reasonable young man, Kagome mused.

The differences between Minoru and Miroku were about as stark and startling as the differences between Suzume and Sango. Miroku had always struck Kagome as somewhat of a bum, always leeching off rich folks throughout the villages, tricking them with (usually) fake exorcisms to get the group a night spent indoors and in beds. While Minoru still had that intelligence, his air of confidence was gone, and he mostly kept to himself. While pretending to be a humble monk in search of personal fulfillment, Kagome was able to observe him for what he really was – the epitome of arrogance. She had once thought the same of Sesshomaru, but that seemed to have changed over the past five centuries.

While Miroku was often so easy for Kagome to like and despise simultaneously, Minoru was… more difficult to dislike. He was quiet and much less sure of himself, which Kagome still sometimes found laughable coming from the face that still reminded her so much of the monk from his previous life. It took him a very long time to become completely comfortable around Kagome, despite recognizing her instantly at the soba shop.

Suzume had become more like Miroku, it seemed, and Minoru had become more like Sango. The two souls still balanced each other, though they were both more on neutral ground now than before. Suzume was loud and outspoken – sometimes borderline outrageous. Poor Minoru really had no idea what to do with the crazy woman half the time; he wanted to just curl up on the sofa with a book and a good movie, but Suzume always felt the need to jump into a sexy outfit and run off with her wild bandmates. More often than not, Minoru was dragged off to these crazy parties with his new girlfriend, and Kagome couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor man. He obviously wasn't used to all the attention he'd been receiving, and she honestly couldn't blame him for craving his space already.

Kagome sighed into the cell phone. "I can't believe that he's still so bad off," she murmured, making sure to keep her voice down while still in public. Her expression changed suddenly from sad to annoyed. "That idiot! He can face down some of the worst demons and villains in history, but estrange him from his wife – a wife that apparently can never be good enough for him when she's around but is the center of his existence once she's gone – and he's a bumbling drunk!" She shook her head, still feeling the brunt of her anger and bitterness from that day. Unbidden tears rolled down her heated cheeks as she stood beneath the stoop, watching sorrowfully as it slowly began to rain.

On the other side of the phone, sitting in the break room at his hospital, Minoru pulled away from the receiver and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. _Inuyasha, you dumbass_, he thought with no shortage of irritation at his best friend's actions. _What on Earth were you thinking?_

Kagome cleared her throat suddenly. "I'll talk to you later." The change in her tone startled the young doctor, and he sat up in his chair, moving his hand and blinking off into space.

"Kagome? Are you all right?"

"_Click_!"

The resident sat back in his seat, staring down at his quietly beeping cell phone in surprise. A bad feeling was starting to gather in the pit of his stomach… He locked his jaw in place, determined, and dialed a number he knew he was going to regret.

Under the stoop on the street, Kagome wiped her clammy palms against her wet cheeks, trying to rid herself of her embarrassing tears.

"Let's get going."

She shot the young man standing beside her a perturbed look. "You shouldn't be doing this," she said to him in a quiet voice before hissing at the uncomfortably hostile way he shoved the barrel of his handgun into her back. "My husband isn't a very nice person when you piss him off."

The shadowed face sneered; Kagome followed the lines his lips made, and her brown eyes widened in sudden recognition. Even as he stepped out from the darkness of the shop doorway, she knew what his face would look like; crimson eyes glinted maliciously at her in the dimming sunlight.

"Naraku…!"

The whispered name brought back a jolt of memories for Heru, though he wasn't entirely sure why. It struck him that he had met this girl before, though maybe not in this lifetime.

_The first thing he sees is a simple fold-out table in the middle of a dirty, cluttered kitchen; it's a relatively small room, and the child feels cramped standing in its doorway, looking at it. The window across from him is brightly lit with sunlight, so bright that it doesn't seem to be a window at all. No, it's not a window after all; it's just a large, white-yellow square set up on the wall… with a flower in a vase in it. It's a pretty flower, Heru has to admit – a vibrant, orange lily, his mother's favorite…_

_His eyes dart to his right as strange yet familiar noises reach his ears; they seem to be coming from his mother's bedroom. She had always been a simple woman, never too bright, and she had always been what the other children at school knew as a "bum connoisseur." He hates the way they speak about her, but there's nothing he can do, he's tiny compared to them. Every time he lashes out at them for calling his mother a whore, he's put down in his place, made to feel just like the rotten piece of trash that he is. Even at eight, he has become so well-versed with this underworld he calls home that the sounds he encounters as he nears his mother's barely faze him._

_The door creaks as he pushes it open, and opens it does. Crimson eyes settle upon a harrowing sight, one that is forever burned into his retinas. On her large bed lies his whore of a mother, fighting off a man who looks uncomfortably like Heru himself; blood is quickly soaking the normally pristine white sheets, and his hackles raise at the thought of her blood ruining the mattress. _It's a good mattress_, he thinks as the man towering over his cowering excuse for a mother turns and catches sight of him._

_Never moving as the man stands, leaving his mother to drip dry of life, Heru isn't even sure he's the one moving his lips. "Are you my father?" Even at eight, he realizes that their shared appearance can be no coincidence._

_It's such an elaborately cynical smirk that Heru isn't sure he should have asked the man any question, let alone one so life-changing. "Why, if it isn't the halfbreed?" the man says, mostly to himself, as he steps closer to the boy. Heru doesn't – can't – move at this point; all he can do is stare, close-mouthed and numb, as his mother's murderer approaches. Looking up, the boy is sure that's certain death he sees in those scarlet eyes that mirror his own._

_The man regards him, his eyes lingering on the boy's longer than average fingernails. "You're more like her than you should be," he says, and Heru isn't quite sure what he means, though he has an inkling. He'd always felt there was something off about him, but his mother could never tell him what it was._

"_D'you hear things you shouldn't, boy?"_

_Slowly, Heru nods, never taking his eyes off the man. His father chuckles, probably at his silence, and swings his head to the right, relighting his smoke and taking a long, satisfying-sounding drag. Both males look at the twitching body on the bed, and Heru knows that he should feel something for it – something like remorse or sorrow._

_But all he can feel is relief._

_Even at eight, he knows there is no room for regret in this dysfunctional mindfuck called life._

This girl… _She isn't from this lifetime, I'm sure_, Heru thought, his smirk disappearing at the strange name.

He grunted at her, shoving her forward with his left hand still in his coat pocket and the gun in his right hand still pressed firmly against her tender back. "Let's go."

Together, Kagome right in front of Heru, they both began to walk down the sidewalk; after a few minutes, they passed the steep stairs that led up to the Sunset Shrine. As they continued walking, Kagome glanced up, at the top of those stairs, hoping to see a family member sweeping or something – anything! – and get them to notice her and the trouble she'd gotten herself in.

But there was no one standing on the stone steps, no one waiting for her beneath the _torii_. She was on her own.

A/N: Just to let my readers know: I had my twins on November 23rd, almost at midnight, so I'm still in the hospital as I post this. I just wanted to go ahead and get it posted - and also let all of you know that my posting may become erratic and few and far between for a while. My husband and I are playing all this by ear, and we have to put off the move for awhile until myself and the twins are up for it. Thank you for understanding. ^_^

Next Time:

Chapter Twenty-Three: Let's Jam.


	23. Let's Jam

A/N: I do not own Inuyasha or the song "The Girl" by City and Colour.

Warnings for this chapter: Graphic violence, language, gore, extreme angst/drama.

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Let's Jam.

Inuyasha strolled lazily down the walkway of the large home, noting just how beautiful a day it was outside. Flowers were blooming, birds were chirping, and the scent of freshly cooked ramen floated on the wind; stooping down at the edge of the yard, he picked up the paper that had been left and turned back, walking just as slowly back toward the house as he had away from it.

_I wish I could do better by you_

_Cuz that's what you deserve._

_You sacrifice so much of your life_

_In order for this to work._

As he walked, he couldn't help the spring in his step, and, soon, he started whistling. It was a bright, cheerful tune that left his puckered lips, and he knew that it was a tune he remembered very well. It was quite an upbeat song, and he smiled brightly as it continued to play in his head. He entered through the front door, walking passively through the brightly lit foyer, inhaling deeply. Ever since Kagome and the twins had come home from the hospital, the place had smelled of cherries and babies and water and ramen – beautiful, wondrous ramen.

_While I'm off chasing my own dreams,_

_Sailing around the world,_

_Please know that I'm yours to keep,_

_My beautiful girl._

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

_When you cry a piece of my heart dies,_

_Knowing that I may have been the cause._

_If you were to leave,_

_Fulfill someone else's dreams…_

"Yeah, baby, it's me," he said as he rounded the corner. Suddenly, something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was… It just… wasn't right. Kagome turned from the stove to face him, and her eyes suddenly widened, the brown in them fading a little.

…_I think I might totally be lost._

Inuyasha stumbled backward, suddenly lightheaded and woozy. The scent of blood – rich and metallic – filled the air in the kitchen, and the _hanyou_ couldn't figure out what was going on. He was horrified when Kagome shrieked his name – she sounded so terrified and agonized…

Something was definitely wrong.

And it hit him all of a sudden – a sharp pain in his gut. He moved his hand as he slid down the counter, sprawling onto his back on the pretty tile Kagome had chosen for her kitchen… he knew his blood had probably ruined it by now…

His wife knelt at his side – or was she really there? – and Inuyasha felt the spot in his stomach that hurt. His hand came back into view, slick and red, and his golden eyes widened before unfocusing completely, his head drooping. He dropped into sudden unconsciousness.

"_Inuyasha!"_

Kagome couldn't believe her eyes the entire time. She wasn't sure how her estranged husband had been able to track her down – probably by her scent, but she'd thought he'd be too drunk to be able to accurately use his nose at this time of day, especially considering what Minoru had seen of him earlier that morning.

The boy with Naraku's face had steered her about a block or so down the busy, bustling street from the shrine, into an old, abandoned building. The floor was rotting, the walls were decrepit, and Kagome had the distinct feeling that it was going to be removed fairly soon.

Inside the building, the boy had shoved her further into the house, all the way to a small, cramped room in the back. There was no furniture, the only lighting emanating from the outside sunlight through the rather large window; the place was damp and musty, and the air tickled Kagome's nose until she sneezed every time she tried to breathe. There were several pieces of perfectly cut lumber leaning against one of the walls in the room, and she wondered briefly if it was a construction site.

She sighed, knowing full well that the only reason she was wondering about stupid things like this was to keep her mind off the painful reality that she needed to face – that she might not be leaving this rotting building alive.

"Sit," the boy ordered her in Naraku's voice, and Kagome did as he said, turning her thoughts to a potential solution to her situation.

First, she tried sympathy. He looked reasonable enough; he was just a few years younger than she was, for Kami's sake! "Look," she started, "I just had a pair of twins a couple months ago, and they're with my mother, waiting for me. Their father… well, he isn't in the picture right now, so I'm all they've got. Please…" Kagome let loose a single tear, and the gravity of her situation hit her fully. It was a real tear streaming its way down her cheek – proof of her desolation.

The young man sneered at her; apparently, Kagome had chosen the wrong tactic. "I'm probably doing those kids a favor by turning you over to him," he said, glaring down at her with angry eyes. "You'd probably be a horrible mother."

Kagome was taken aback by his hostility; it sunk in that he'd probably been done wrong by his own _okaasan_. "Not all mothers are bad," she said simply, gritting her teeth and staring hard at the floor. She squeaked with surprise when he suddenly gripped her harshly by the chin, forcing her head back up.

"_Wrong_, stupid bitch!" Rearing back, he smacked her fully across the face; the sound of the slap echoed throughout the empty building, and Kagome let out a startled shriek. The entire right side of her face felt as though it had exploded, and she reached up to touch the tender skin. It was probably bright red, she knew, and it was hot to the touch. Frightened, she stared up at the boy – who glared down at her with unbelievable hatred. "_All_ mothers are worthless, horrible windbags who can't take care of themselves, let alone their children!"

Righteous anger filled the former Miko suddenly, and her expression twisted to mirror her feelings. "You're wrong! I am _not _a bad mother!"

_Smack!_

This time, Kagome went crashing to the side; this boy had inhuman strength, and, as Kagome lay on her side, staring up at him in terror, she tapped into her long unused Miko powers. She saw his demonic aura, and it flared a brilliant and vibrant red. "Y-you're a _hanyou_!" she cried out in sudden realization, and Heru stopped. He blinked at her, surprised by her exclamation – though he couldn't pause for very long.

Right then, there was a loud crash, and the window shattered, a red-clad figure swooping into the room right through the glass. The silver-haired _inuhanyou_ landed heavily on his feet, throwing his arms back and roaring loudly in Heru's face. The boy backtracked, instantly intimidated by the monstrous being, and Kagome just stared up at the scene, shock overwhelming her.

_Inuyasha_.

Yes, it was him – she was sure of it! As usual when her well-being was threatened, he had become a vicious, dangerous creature – but what caught Kagome's attention this time was the lack of jagged, amethyst markings on his cheeks, the normal-sized claws and fangs. When she looked up, finding the furious eyes trained fastidiously on the _kumohanyou_, she couldn't believe that they weren't wide and blood-red, that there were no dilated blue pupils. They were their usual brilliant gold, though something about them seemed dulled. Inuyasha reeked of alcohol, and it hit Kagome what was dulled in his eyes – him.

_Inuyasha no baka!_

Before she could rise to her feet and stop them, the two _hanyou_ had begun their fight – if you could call it that. It was more of a brawl in her opinion – all flying fists, muttered swear words and snarls… Then when Heru brandished his long, black fingers, Inuyasha did the same with his own, and claws were added to the mix. Kagome knew that something bad was going to happen.

"Inuyasha!" she cried out, heaving herself to her feet despite her still burning cheek and her quivering legs. "Inuyasha, don't hurt him! He's not bad – I know he isn't! He just needs our help!"

"Keh!" her _hanyou_ husband growled, dodging another blow from Heru. "I ain't sparin' nobody that hits you, K'gome!" He swiped at the younger half-demon, while accidentally leaving his entire torso open for attack.

Kagome shrieked loudly as she watched Heru's entire hand, claws and all, smash into Inuyasha left side, sinking up to his wrist into the delicate flesh and muscle. Her husband threw his head back, eyes clearing momentarily as pain ripped its way through his brain, bringing him through his sake and scotch-induced haze. To Kagome's horror, he didn't continue fighting – no, she watched as his eyelids fluttered, and he coughed raggedly. Blood suddenly splattered across the floor, and Kagome screamed his name – "_Inuyasha!_"

Heru grunted as Kagome watched his right arm tense, then he dragged it quickly out of Inuyasha's torso. Swallowing loudly, Inuyasha fell to his knees first, then over onto his side. Kagome dove to her knees at his side, ignoring the sharp pain that erupted in her kneecaps at the sudden contact with the floor. She felt Heru wrap his blood-covered fingers around her wrist, and she gritted her teeth, releasing a wave of power in his direction. There was a spark, and the _kumohanyou_ hissed before pulling away and dashing through the house, leaving Kagome to scream at her fallen husband as he bled out onto the dirty floor.

The next several minutes whirred past Kagome, and she felt as though it was impossible for her to keep up; there were suddenly flashing lights outside the broken window, and Minoru came rushing in with a pair of _youkai_ paramedics. As they set Inuyasha up on the stretcher, Kagome held his hand while Minoru put pressure on the fastly worsening wound in the _hanyou_'s gut.

Tears stained her cheeks, and more of them began to gather in her eyes as she stared down at the bloody, ragged mess that was Inuyasha; as the paramedics rolled him out of the house and toward the parked ambulance that was waiting, he smiled weakly up at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "My beautiful girl…" he murmured just before losing consciousness completely.

As the ambulance doors slammed shut, Minoru on Inuyasha's other side, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, unable to continue looking at him. "You're going to be fine…" she whimpered in a quiet, subdued voice, not even sure if she should allow herself to believe those words. But this was Inuyasha – somehow, he always got through, at every turn! He would be okay, Kagome knew.

Later that night, Kagome found herself sitting at his bedside, rousing from a nightmare made mostly of memories of the afternoon. Inuyasha was lying in the hospital bed in front of her, in the ICU, bandaged practically from head to toe and hooked up to several annoying, beeping machines; the doctors had managed to stop the blood loss, but there was another problem no one had foreseen; Kagome vaguely remembered what Rin had said to her right after she and Inuyasha had first gotten married: _So far, I've only fallen ill to one type of toxin in the past five hundred years, and you really don't see that many kumo around here anymore…_

_Kumo_. Kagome shivered, suddenly cold all over at the realization of exactly how much trouble Inuyasha had gotten himself into… or, rather, that _she_ had gotten him into. The doctors gave Inuyasha very low chances of survival; apparently, when she had seen Heru's arm tense, that had been the boy pumping Inuyasha full of venom.

"Apparently, it's got quite a kick to it." Kagome jumped, startled, at the sound of Minoru's voice over her shoulder; turning, she shot him a perturbed look, and he chuckled sheepishly. Watching her with tired eyes, the doctor pulled up another chair and sat down beside her. "Sorry. Somehow, I forgot that there was more to today's ordeal than _this_." He gestured to Inuyasha, who had begun to quietly hum in his medically-induced sleep.

Kagome blinked, recognizing a bit of the tune. Pushing herself to her feet, she came forward, leaning her ear close to her husband's mouth as he began to form words.

"I might… be lost…"

Minoru watched, his concern growing, as Kagome's hands gripped the bedsheets, and she threw her head back. As she sank to her knees, chest heaving with unshed sobs, he realized that, so far, she had been shutting everything inside, only giving the _appearance_ of dealing with the stress of the day. He got to his feet, reaching for her… but something inside made him pause.

_Maybe this is just what she needs_…

Kagome collapsed against Inuyasha, her knees meeting the hard floor. Sobs racked her entire body, reducing her to a crying, quivering mass against his still form. "Inuyasha!" she cried out, and the rawness of her voice made Minoru's chest tighten. "Inuyasha, you _baka_! I didn't want you to do this – I _never_ wanted you to do this! I wanted you to be healthy and happy and _faithful_ – was it too much to ask? It must have been – you… _you_…" She hesitated, and Minoru thought that, maybe, she was done.

"_Baka_!"

Kagome broke off suddenly into a heartbreaking mixture of sobbing and screaming, and Minoru just stood there, eyes shining, and watched as she finally let herself break down for once.

"_Baka! Baka! Bakaaaaa_..." She cried harder, whimpering. Leaning her head down against Inuyasha's right hip, Kagome sniffled. "I'm angry with you," she murmured, the heat of her breath soaking into the blankets, "but I don't want you to die. I never…" She broke off into more tears, unable to say anymore.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-Four: With My Last Breath


	24. With My Last Breath

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-Four: With My Last Breath

It had been three days, and there was no improvement in Inuyasha's condition. Kagome had left and returned more times than she could count, pretty much to go home and shower and spend time with the twins. Moriko was making astounding progress; she was the size of a six-month-old versus the three-month-old that she actually was, and she'd actually begun to crawl one night when Kagome was there. Kaji, however, was still a bit on the small side, and he seemed to be the more soft-spoken of the duo. Kagome feared that Moriko would be the ringleader of the pair in years to come.

Finally, when Kagome was returning to the hospital late in the evening on the third day, she stopped just before rounding the corner when she heard Minoru and another doctor arguing just outside Inuyasha's door.

"There's nothing else we can do?!" Minoru hissed. Kagome's brow furrowed at his obviously troubled tone; he sounded angry and worried at the same time, quite possibly on the verge of a freak-out.

"Minoru, you know we've given it our all," the other doctor responded in an equally low tone. "There's just… Look, the resiliency of his body astounds us all – it's amazing that he's even made it this long! That _kumo_ didn't just inject him with venom; no, he fucking _filled_ that _hanyou_ with it! It's eating away at his organs as we stand out here arguing!"

Kagome silently clapped her hand over her mouth, desperate to stifle the anguished sob threatening to escape her at the doctor's words. Tears filled her widened eyes, and she sank down to the cool ground, her back pressed painfully against the wall. _Inuyasha's… going to die?_ The idea just seemed so absolutely ludicrous to Kagome – this was Inuyasha here! He just didn't _die_, he never had! As far as she was concerned, he was too stubborn.

"Look, we can help filter it out-"

The other doctor cut off Minoru. "No, dammit! You know that's not going to work! The venom is just too caustic and potent – and there's just too damn much of it! He's not going to last another day like this. Face it, Minoru… You just need to bite the bullet and tell his widow."

Kagome swallowed hard as she listened keenly to the fading footsteps; hearing Minoru sigh and leave as well, she bit back another choked sob. Letting her face fall into her hands, Kagome was about to just let herself wallow in her despair.

And then it hit her… Her head shot up, her chest heaving with labored breaths as adrenaline turned her cold. She blinked away the tears and the sobs as a plan formed in her mind; pursing her lips, Kagome shoved herself to her feet, full of renewed determination. Leaving her purse where it sat, she hurried down the hall, trying not to run to Inuyasha's closed door. Once she reached it, she took another look down the hall; no one was there. She swung it open and dashed inside, closing it quietly before locking it.

Kagome knew they'd try and stop her. It was dangerous, what she was doing… But she couldn't let Inuyasha die when there was a possible way of saving him.

For a minute, she just stood there, staring at her sick and dying husband, still unconscious in the hospital bed; biting back more tears, she steeled her resolve and stepped forward. Breathing heavily and full of fear – for herself _and_ Inuyasha – Kagome came to stand directly at his bedside, placing her palms gently on his torso.

The Miko squeezed her eyes shut tight, tensing her jaw as her chest filled so full of cold terror that she thought she might burst. "Moriko… Kaji… Mama loves you…" A single tear streamed down her cheek.

As she readied herself for the task at hand, she released a final, shaky breath, in the form of a hushed, horrified whisper:

"_I don't want you to grow up fatherless_… _like I did_."

Her eyes snapped open as her hands began to glow with their usual amethyst light. She was horrified when she used her powers to trace the poison coursing its way through Inuyasha's entire body – the doctor had been absolutely right, she realized. There was no way her _hanyou_ wasn't in pain, as much venom that was still in his system. It had an evil, menacing aura to it, and Kagome's heart fell a little when she realized that she'd been correct in her assumption – the _kumo_ venom reeked of demonic energy.

Taking another deep breath, she began her assault, pouring her entire being into the purification.

A few corridors down, Minoru was leaning, heart heavy, against the counter at the nurses' station; he was contemplating the best way of breaking the news to Kagome.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on and off; alarms started going off everywhere, and Minoru threw his head up, panic overwhelming him. Something in his gut told him that he knew exactly where all this mess was coming from. He broke off into a run down the hallway, reaching Inuyasha's room in record time – only to be halted by the locked door. The doctor tugged and yanked on it, but it wouldn't give. Peering inside, his violet eyes widened when he saw Kagome, her entire body glowing, standing over Inuyasha.

When she convulsed, spitting a good amount of blood onto Inuyasha's stomach, Minoru started pounding frantically on the door.

"Kagome!" he shrieked. "Kagome! Stop! Don't _do _this!"

Inside the room, Kagome's breathing became harsher just as her knees began to buckle underneath her. Her throat felt slimy; she knew that more blood was going to come up if she didn't quit soon. But she couldn't quit… There was still so much damn venom…

As she started to feel lightheaded, she noticed the tickling sensation between her nose and her upper lip. Glancing up for a moment, she caught her reflection in the window across the room – a thin line of ruby-red blood streamed down from her nose to her lip, and she sighed, returning her focus to the task at hand.

Outside, Minoru was still banging on the door. "Dammit, Kagome! There's nothing you can do – he's going to die, and at this rate you'll die with him! Please – open the door! Think of your _children_!"

When she continued to ignore him, Minoru turned and screamed at a panic-stricken nurse, "_Call Sesshomaru – now!_" When he turned back to the window, he watched, his heart sinking, as Kagome turned to the side and vomited more blood onto the sanitized floor. The doctor swore the woman was going to make him lose his mind if she survived this.

When Kagome straightened up, ready to focus on destroying the venom once more, she noticed the ebony hair that now replaced the silver. Her eyes widened as they trailed upward along her husband's limp body to reach his face – his groggy expression and confused, violet eyes.

He swallowed as he stared up at her. "K-K'gome?" he murmured.

Tears began their freefall as she turned her head away, not daring to look down at her temporarily human husband. _I need to finish this_...

She listened silently as his breathing quickened – he'd caught sight of the blood, she knew. As his memory slowly pieced back together, he realized what she was doing.

"No…" he grunted, trying to lift his arms to stop her – he was too drugged, they were too heavy. It terrified him that she was going to kill herself trying to rid him of the venom, and he suddenly surged his strength. Reaching forward, he clasped her wrist as tightly as he could with one hand. "Kagome… stop, baby."

"No, Inuyasha – there's just a little more left…"

"Baby… Baby, I said stop." He pulled on her wrist, trying to break its contact with his torso.

"_No_!" She surged her power suddenly, and it shocked his hand even in _ningen_ form. He blinked, recoiling a little, and stared at her, shocked. More blood found its way past her lips as she poured more of her strength into purifying the _kumo_ venom.

Suddenly, the glow disappeared, and Kagome's head fell, hung low from obvious exhaustion. "There," she whispered, fingers curling to tightly clench the bloody blanket covering Inuyasha. Raising her head, she gazed at him with half-lidded, dimmed eyes. "'S all gone…" She fell over suddenly, sprawling on her back; Inuyasha started, overpowered with emotion and worry. Pushing himself to his feet, he stumbled as quickly as he could to the locked door; unlocking it, he was nearly run over by a hysterical Minoru shoving the door open and flying straight over him, to Kagome's prone form.

"_Dammit_!"

Inuyasha just sat against the wall, fully human and fully healed, and watched with wide eyes as Minoru and several nurses worked to bring Kagome back.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-Five: Blue.


	25. Blue

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Blue.

He snickered as he came up close behind her; wrapping his arms around her slim waist, he tugged her backward, crushing her back against his chest. She giggled, slapping his arm teasingly. "Careful, _baka_! You're going to make me drop the roller!" She laughed wholeheartedly with him at that.

When the laughter subsided, he settled his chin on her shoulder, surveying her hard work. "Don't you think it's a little… _dark_?" he asked her.

He felt her huff. "I think it's pretty," she said simply, shrugging him off. Unaffected by her obviously dissatisfied gesture, he stepped around her, forward, and took a closer look at the freshly painted wall. There was something about it… He had to know what was so strange about it; he just couldn't look away.

"Kagome?"

She looked up, blinking lazy brown eyes at him. Inuyasha noticed her suddenly tired expression when he looked at her over his shoulder.

"Why blue?"

She blinked at him. "What?"

His eyes narrowed at her. "Why blue?" he repeated.

Slowly, she set the roller down in the paint and stood straight; stepping away from it, she walked across the room to stand right beside him.

"It reflects your mood these days," she answered.

Inuyasha watched her closely. "What does that mean?"

She turned her head, smiling brightly up at him. "It reflects you, Inuyasha. It's as simple as that." Kagome kept her eyes trained on the drying wall in front of them, and Inuyasha turned his head, looking at it with her.

He gasped when something started to run through the middle of the sea of quickly drying blue – a thick line of dark red. Suddenly, right before his eyes, more red gushed from the corners and the trim, covering the blue with its dark malice. Spinning around with Kagome's name on his lips, Inuyasha froze when he felt the familiar pulse – his silver hair turned black, his claws and fangs disappeared, his eyes went from gold to violet instantaneously.

Inuyasha swallowed as he watched the red recede, sliding back up the wall and disappearing into the trim.

"What the hell?" he cried out. Suddenly, he doubled over in excruciating pain, calling her name: "Kagome!"

Opening his eyes, there she was; her tired face was the first thing he saw. As his eyes adjusted to the light and his brain focused on the situation, his memory of what happened slowly returned.

He knew instantly what his wife was up to as she glowed against him. _Kagome_… he thought sadly, reaching forward and taking her hands. The blood stain on his stomach terrified him, and he knew that if she continued purifying the venom from his body that she might die. It was too much stress for her body – she was only human, after all. Delicate. Fragile.

He tried to stop her, but her will was stronger than that. He should have known better; that last little burst was probably what caused her sudden, eventual collapse at his bedside. It still amazed him that she could call up the strength to zap him in human form when she was already so weak. That just meant that was he had seen of her spiritual powers so far was merely a fraction of what she could _really _do.

For days, he was still weak. In purifying the venom from his body, she had also turned him human – which had happened before, but it usually faded after a day or so.

Four days later, he sat at Kagome's bedside as she slowly came to – still human. A part of Inuyasha was genuinely afraid that he would be stuck like this forever – but as he watched her, sleeping so peacefully, he felt that it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

The sun was setting when she finally opened her eyes. They fluttered a moment before finally focusing on him, the pupils dilating as she regained full consciousness.

"Where are Moriko and Kaji?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse from lack of use.

For a moment, Inuyasha just watched her, his eyes betraying nothing, his expression holding no emotion. He was so blank that, for that one moment, Kagome was afraid of his answer.

Then he smiled, looking down at the floor, and chuckled. "They're fine," he said. "They're with your mother – who is not very happy with us at the moment."

Kagome slowly started to sit up but stopped when Inuyasha shook his head, his eyes trained on her once more. "The docs 'round here said that'd be a bad idea. Somethin' 'bout too much stress on your already stressed body."

She turned her head, biting her lip and looking out the broad window. "How long?"

Violet eyes finally blinked. "How long what?"

Kagome sighed, her eyes tearing up a little. "How long have I been out? How long have you been human?"

He didn't answer for a minute. Then, "Four days."

She remained silent.

Inuyasha's fist clenched suddenly, and he rose quickly to his feet, gritting his teeth angrily. "You're such a stupid bitch, you know?" he cried out, glaring down at her. Kagome didn't react; she just continued to stare out the window. "After all this time spent away from each other – waiting for each other! I waited five hundred Kamis-damn years for you, woman, and I can't be forgiven for one little indiscretion?"

Kagome scoffed quietly. "'One little indiscretion…'" she murmured, smiling slightly. She turned over to glare right back up at him. "If my _obaasan_ was an 'indiscretion,' then what the hell do you call Kikyo?"

"Kikyo's nothing!"

She gasped, blinking at his outburst. He went on, "She _was_ something, yeah! But you…" Inuyasha broke off into a snarl. "You're _you_, dammit, woman! You've always been something so different from Kikyo, and from Keiko… Just because I noticed the similarities between you doesn't mean that I've always just sit back and let myself become deluded with thoughts of having you replace them!" He looked away from her. "They're irreplaceable, yes…" His eyes darted to the side, honing in on her with his head still turned. "But so are you, Kagome! And you're here, and I'm here, and I'm tired of all this drama and fucked up tragedy… I jus' wanna live with you and the babies and be _happy_!"

Kagome watched, awestruck by his sudden downpour of emotion, as he collapsed back into the chair. It was then that she noticed Inuyasha still wore the hospital gown. "Am I really that horrible a person, Kagome?" he whispered. Her eyes widened as she saw a few stray tears make their way down his face, and he swallowed. Looking up at her, she tried to stay angry, tried to see that asshole that had betrayed her for other women time and time again –

But all she saw was a tired, worn-out man in need of a break and a good hug.

That was all her Inuyasha was at that moment – a man.

"Am I really so horrible a person that I don't deserve a little peace? A little happiness?" Finally, he looked away from her again, shaking his head. "I guess not…"

"And what about me?"

Looking at her again, Inuyasha was taken aback at her tears. She glared at him with wide brown eyes awash with anger and sadness and agony. "What about me, Inuyasha?" she wanted to know. "Am I worthy of happiness, too? That's all I ever wanted from you – and, at every single turn, it seemed like you weren't ready to give it to me." She bit her lip. "I love the twins, with everything in me…" Squeezing her eyes shut, the tears flowed freely, and she screamed at him, "But I'm nothing without you, _baka_!"

Inuyasha's heart both sank and rose at her words.

"So stop running off to your damn sake bottle when the going gets tough!" she yelled, launching herself into a sitting position. "Stop recounting these tales of idiotic ideals you shed while trying to figure out why the hell I would purposely leave you – because I wouldn't! I didn't work so hard for years of my life to win your trust only to have you throw it all completely out the window just because you have self-esteem issues! I'm tired of telling you over and over how absolutely breathtaking you are, in _everything_ you do, Inuyasha! You need to start figuring out for yourself that you are a great guy – a _good_ guy, and not the sleaze that you've made yourself into! Be a man already, Inuyasha! Be a-!"

Kagome broke off suddenly, her eyes widening as she choked. Blood spilled past her lips, and she turned to the side, vomiting suddenly. Inuyasha, quick on the uptake as always, already had the bucket waiting.

As she emptied her stomach, her husband sighed.

"I seriously wonder why you always call _me_ the _baka_," he mumbled, reaching over her head to lightly rub her back. The contact offered Kagome a strange sense of comfort and normalcy – something she knew already that she desperately needed in this situation. "After all, _you're_ the one that always used to go off and get herself kidnapped and nearly killed – even now, in the modern era!" He shook his head. "And now you're stuck here with me, both of us in worse shape than ever, because you decided suddenly that you can't live without me and nearly blew yourself up from the inside out just to keep me!" Inuyasha sighed as Kagome wiped her mouth, sitting back up. She quirked an eyebrow at the return of his trademark smirk. "Sounds like _you're_ the _baka_."

Her eye twitched, annoyed. "Did I really?"

Inuyasha laughed lightly. "Yeah," he replied, setting the half-full bucket down on the floor next to the bed and leaning back in his chair. "It was amazing… Or it would've been, had you not collapsed."

Kagome grimaced.

"They had to rush you straight into the OR, Minoru said – you ruptured something… your appendix, I think. And they all said that, if you'd continued to use your powers at such a dangerous level, other organs would'a been taxed and ruptured." His eyes became slightly hazy as he whispered, "They said you would'a drowned in your own blood."

Kagome closed her eyes, her heart clenching at those ominous words.

She started when she felt a hand slide over hers; opening her eyes, she looked down to see Inuyasha's large, rough hand covering hers, his fingers begging to intertwine with her own. Smiling at him, she complied; mate and mate sat together and watched the sun set fully.

* * *

"If it was you, I'd have done the same thing!"

Minoru stared at Suzume in complete and utter shock. Those were not words he'd wanted to hear in the middle of this argument. The doctor wasn't even entirely sure what had started this fight; all he knew was that it had escalated quickly, like all the rest of them.

"Suzume, don't be stupid!"

"Oh, now wanting to save your life is _stupid_, is it?"

"Kamis-dammit, woman! You're being an ignorant bitch!"

The musician's face flushed a deep, angry red; she stomped her foot. "Don't call me a bitch, Minoru! You don't know how _bitchy_ I can be!"

He threw his hands up in the air. "That's exactly it! We _don't_ know each other, Suzume – _not at all_! You're not Sango, and I'm not Miroku! You're not a demon slayer anymore – you're a singer! I'm not a monk, I'm a doctor! I'm not a pervert, I'm not a womanizer, and I'm sure as hell not an idiot!" He sighed, slumping into a nearby lounger, his face in his hand.

Suzume stood in the doorway, staring at him with shocked, widened eyes. "Wh-what do you mean?" she whispered. When he didn't answer, she stepped forward. "What are you talking about, Minoru?"

He hesitated. "I'm saying that we're just… Dammit, Suzume, we're just not that same." He dropped his hand and turned his head, looking her right in the eye. "We shouldn't be together."

Suzume waited for it. She waited anxiously for the collapse, the clenching, the tears. She waited, terrified, for the shattering, debilitating heartbreak that she knew from past experience was imminent.

As she stood there, barely in the living room, it never came.

Minutes passed, and nothing happened. There was no breaking, no falling, no hurt or anguished cry threatening to escape from her lips.

Suzume… was okay with separating from Minoru.

He was right, she realized; they weren't the same people from their previous life. It had been a good run – for them both. But she wasn't Sango, and he wasn't Miroku; as such, they're romance had become frozen in time, something to be cherished as it had been when they were alive. It wasn't something that should need to be forced, and she knew that this break up had been a long time coming.

Releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Suzume smiled at Minoru. His expression morphed into one of confusion.

"Okay," she said.

He blinked. "Okay?"

She nodded, still smiling brightly. "Okay, Minoru. You're right. We shouldn't be together anymore – though I'll always love you."

Finally, he chuckled, smiling back at her. Standing, he crossed the room and hugged her tight, eliciting a girlish giggle from the vocalist. "And I'll love you." He kissed the top of her head before releasing her to grab his coat. Nodding to her, they both said goodnight, and Minoru left.

For some reason, Suzume felt better than she had in quite some time.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-Six: Little By Little


	26. Little by Little

Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Little by Little

Kagome smiled as Minoru entered the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. "Inuyasha's down at the cafeteria, I presume."

The former miko nodded, trying her best not to be affected by his grim expression. The doctor came forward, taking the seat right beside her bed; it was still warm from Inuyasha's use. "I swear," Minoru went on as he crossed one leg over the other, opening the manila folder in his lap and flipping through the pages. "Is it just me, or does he eat twice as much when he's human than when he's _hanyou_?"

Kagome giggled at that. "I think you may be right," she said. "Which isn't at all what you'd expect."

Minoru grinned as his eyes scanned the papers below. "No," he agreed. "No, it's not."

A few more minutes passed the two in silence, Kagome listening closely to all of Minoru's huffs and sighs; for a while, all she could really hear were the pages shuffling, and her nerves built up, the air in the room beginning to run thick with tension.

Finally, Minoru uncrossed his legs, sitting up in the chair. Kagome swallowed, a bit paler than the minutes prior, and she tried her best to settle the butterflies swarming in her stomach. It wasn't working so far. "Just come out and say it," she said breathlessly, her fear catching up with her. Minoru watched her closely as she stared down at the knitted, off-white blanket covering her naked legs; her fingers twisted in the fabric, clutching at it as a way to deal with her stress.

The doctor cleared his throat. "All right then," he said quietly, his eyes returning to the sheet of paper in his lap. He sighed, a final hesitation meant to help clear his thoughts. "It's… not looking good."

His violet eyes darted upward, catching the slight movement of her jaw clenching for but a moment. It was a fleeting signal of her distress, and Minoru decided right then that the decent thing to do would be to go on, to just give it to her straight. Kagome was the straightforward type of woman that needed the information upfront, and he couldn't deny her that.

"The, uh… The scans came back this morning, and…" _Why am I having such a hard time saying this?_ he wondered, unable to look at Kagome any longer. _I've told this same sort of bad news to hundreds – no, _thousands _of other patients in the past, and I've never had this sort of bad feeling in my gut. Granted, it always sucks to tell someone bad news like this, but…_ Finally, he looked up from his paperwork, meeting her eyes directly. Tears had started to well up in the corners of them, and the brown was becoming milkier and milkier as they moistened and narrowed.

_But this is Kagome_. "The purification of the venom from Inuyasha's body basically overloaded your entire body." _She's different from all my other patients_. "As you already know, your appendix ruptured on the spot, and we were forced to take emergency action in the form of a surgery to remove the organ." _Kagome's different from anyone I've ever met_. "The rest of your body underwent the same stress as that one organ, but, thankfully, you stopped before the rest of your system could break down as well." _She's so stubborn and determined, so thoughtful and thoughtless at the same time_… "Your heart is in a permanently weakened state – something like a heart attack." _How Inuyasha could have ever thought of being with someone else eludes me_. "One of your lungs collapsed, but we re-inflated it, and your entire respiratory system has been responding well to both treatment and therapy these past few days."

He stopped, slightly startled, and looked up when a barely audible sniffle reached his ears. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Kagome was crying – again. His heart clenched at the realization that she'd been doing it a lot lately. "I-I said to give it to me straight," she said in stern, quiet voice, not at all betraying her tears.

The doctor just stared for a moment, then nodded. "Basically," he went on, "your body's in bad shape. Someday, it's going to give out – it'll just collapse right under you, with no warning, no signs, _nothing_. You'll be just fine one minute, and the next – _boom_." He hiccupped, coughing softly to settle the negative feelings gathering in his chest. "Of course, it won't be as sudden as I've made it sound – the collapse'll be brought on by one of your and Inuyasha's many frays that seem to find you no matter what era you live in."

At that, Kagome finally managed to crack a slight smile; she even giggled when she looked over and met Minoru's eyes. Wiping the tears away, she sighed, leaning back against her pillow. "So… About how long can I expect to continue leading this dangerous life of mine?" More than a little about her tone was teasing, and it stirred a defensiveness in Minoru that he hadn't known existed – nor was completely necessary. The duo had taken on a familial feel; Minoru felt now as though Kagome were a younger sister that needed to be watched over and taken care of. He didn't agree with her marrying Inuyasha – the man just didn't seem to _want_ to take care of her the way she needed to be taken care of. He knew, though, that it wasn't his place to voice these opinions; Inuyasha was Kagome's choice in a lifemate, and he needed to at least _try_ to respect that.

It would be hard, though. "There's not really any certain time limit that I can put on something like this, Kagome-chan. It could be tomorrow – or it could be seventy years from now. Maybe centuries – no one can be sure. It'll be real sudden, though." He sighed, looking to the door. "How're you going to break the news to Inuyasha?"

There was only silence at first. Then: "I'm not."

Her words were simple and full of that strange determination that Minoru had learned long ago – as Miroku – not to ever argue with; it did no good. But these two very uncomplicated words caused a very dramatic reaction within Minoru. He physically jolted when he heard them leave her mouth in such a foreboding context. Slowly, he turned in his seat once more, looking her directly in the eye. _I don't approve of her being with Inuyasha… but this seems to be a bit cruel_.

"Why?" he asked timidly, his eyes searching her face for the answer.

She just sat there for a moment, staring down at the blanket again, fiddling with its notched trim. "The way I figure it, Inuyasha is going to be heartbroken either way I play it. If he knows about it, that'll just cause him to worry over me constantly – which would hinder me more than help me. I'll live my time allotted by the Kamis, and I'll die when they plan for me to die. I'm human; Inuyasha already knows that, someday, it'll happen. I'm much more fragile than he is, despite the whole soul-bonding thing we did."

Minoru licked his lips. "But, Kagome! Don't you think you should at least let him _prepare_… or _something_!"

Her eyes darted upward, meeting his suddenly. Their gazes locked, she just stared, her brown eyes emotionless and half-lidded. "If any sort of 'preparation' is enough to keep him from hurting over my death… than he's not the lifemate that I thought he was." She inhaled deeply, exhaling silently as she released her head back, looking up at the bright ceiling. "No, this is the better way – for us both. This way, he doesn't have to dread something that could be centuries away, and I don't have to deal with his overprotective craziness."

The young doctor smiled slightly at her word choice. "You're the boss, Kagome," he said as he stood, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the forehead before walking away from the bed. Unlocking the door, Minoru twisted the knob, exiting the hospital room – but not before pausing to listen as Kagome's tears began anew.

Outside the door, he walked away, wondering if she would ever be through crying.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha came walking down the hallway, dressed once more in blue jeans, white sneakers, and a simple red button-down. Waving to Minoru, who stood close by with a nurse, he disappeared into Kagome's room, closing the door gently behind him. Minoru just sighed, glowering slightly at the closed door before turning his attention back to what the nurse was telling him.

Inside the room, Kagome smiled at her husband as he approached, a full-fledged grin on his face once more. There was no sign of her tears, and the pair shared a light peck on the lips before Inuyasha slouched into his chair, sighing. "Hospital food sucks no matter _what _you are," he said, his eyes on her constantly. "It sucked when I was _hanyou_, and it sucks now when I'm _ningen_."

Kagome snorted. "I would have thought you wouldn't care as a _hanyou_ – you've always been ravenous when I cooked, even when it was absolutely horrible!"

"Well, that's because even when your cooking sucks, it's still amazing." Flashing her a brilliant grin, Inuyasha basked in the light of her resulting smile. She reached forward, the soft palm of her hand lightly cupping the left side of his jaw, her thumb rubbing gently against his cheek. Slowly letting his violet eyes slide closed, he leaned forward so she wouldn't have to stretch so much, and he let himself drift off into memories and daydreams of her lips and his lips, the wonderful smell of her cooking wafting across brightly-lit clearings, and a certain pair of gurgling, cooing voices…

Starting a little, he sat up straight, pulling abruptly away from Kagome's still outstretched hand. She blinked, surprised, as her smile faded, and Inuyasha coughed meaningfully. "Oh, that reminds me," he started. "Your mother said she's going to be by our house later tonight with the babies. She, Souta, and Jii-chan'll be staying with us through the holidays."

Kagome's head fell into her lap; Inuyasha smirked, amused by the sight of his wife folded into herself. "Oh no! I forgot – Christmas is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yes, dear, it is."

"And I haven't bought the stuff needed to _cook_ anything!"

"Well, your mother gave me the impression that she had that under control."

Kagome stayed frozen in the same position, her head popping up to give her husband a surprised – yet pleased – look. "Oh. But I haven't been able to finish any of the shopping – you know! For the gifts and everything!"

He chuckled, patting her head. "Rin and Ko are taking care of the shopping and the gifts and the wrapping, and all the rest of that womanly mess; they're actually working together on it, for once!" He laughed, shaking his head. "It seems that our craziness has prompted the rest of the family to overcome their differences and issues, and everything's fixing itself."

Kagome's expression turned slightly perturbed. "Well… Well, what about the decorations?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply but stopped short when his cell phone rang, abruptly interrupting their conversation. Holding up a finger to hush his wife, he reached to his hip and pulled the damned thing from its holster; it lit up when he mashed the TALK button, and he spoke briefly to whoever was on the other line. Hanging up after barely a minute with a wide smile on his face, Inuyasha shoved it back into its place at his hip. "That was Sesshomaru; he recruited Souta and his boys to help set up all the decorations at both the Western Palace and our place. He was just calling to let me know they're now finished."

Kagome just collapsed back onto her own lap; Inuyasha burst out laughing.

The next evening, everything went just as planned.

Kagome and Inuyasha sat side by side, both handing the twins back and forth; Moriko, for some reason, was completely unsettled by Inuyasha's human-ness. When Kagome gave him a questioning look, it was Sesshomaru, sitting across the coffee table from them, who answered, "She does not recognize his scent."

Inuyasha nodded, still attempting a smile, though Kagome knew better. His daughter's upset was just another form of rejection to him, no matter how idiotic it seemed to anyone else. She sighed, holding her daughter close and shushing her. Inuyasha played with Kaji, who was finally starting to grow at a healthy rate alongside his sister, and he and Sesshomaru watched as Moriko continued to fuss, even in Kagome's arms. Finally, the _taiyouaki_ reached forward. "Give her to me."

Kagome blinked, scooting back in her seat instinctively, but Inuyasha touched her arm comfortingly. "Don't worry," he said. "Sesshomaru can calm her."

Swallowing, the new mother nodded before handing Moriko carefully over to her brother-in-law, who took the infant into his arms. From across the room, Kagome watched as the baby quieted slowly, and she could swear she heard a very faint noise. "Sesshomaru – are you… _purring_?"

Rin barked out a laugh, and Aiko smiled, genuinely amused. "No, no, Kagome-chan," the small woman said. "Sesshomaru is just growling from his chest for her; he used to do it for our pups when they were tiny like that as well. It especially helps when their human time is drawing close."

Suddenly, Kagome understood; she'd seen Inuyasha do it once or twice right after their birth, when he thought she was asleep. _He must not be able to do it right now_, she thought, watching as his expression fought against his pent-up emotions. Her heart sank as she realized that he was fighting a losing battle. _I never dreamed it could hurt him this much to be human_.

Finally, he handed Kaji over to Kagome's mother, standing up and leaving the room in silence; everyone else just watched him leave.

For another minute or so, Kagome just sat there, feeling unusually uncomfortable as everyone in the room stared at her. Chewing her bottom lip anxiously, she finally stood, quietly saying, "Excuse me," before disappearing after her husband.

She made her way quickly through the hallways until she found him on one of the many balconies upstairs; it was the one in the twins' nursery, she entered behind him very slowly, cautiously even. She felt as though he was very volatile as of that moment, and she wasn't quite sure what would cause him to strike out. Swallowing hard, she reached out to touch his shoulder. "Inuyasha?"

The _ningen_ jumped, thoroughly shaken by her sudden appearance; it occurred to Kagome just a few seconds too late that, in this form, he was unable to fully utilize his senses – which, everyone knew, he'd come to rely on almost completely.

Inuyasha stared at his wife a moment, wide-eyed and startled. Reaching forward slowly, with slightly shaking hands, he ran his fingertips along her jawline, tracing her outline.

His chest heaving, he stepped forward, forcing Kagome back; the young woman found her back pressed against the wall just inside the balcony, staring up at her husband. The expression in his eyes told her, above everything else, that she was perfectly safe, and the intensity also held in them made her knees knock just a bit.

"Inuyasha…" she murmured, her tone almost pained as her eyes slowly slid closed.

Without a single word, he leaned forward, taking her lips with his own; the sensation stirred something deeply seeded within him, something that he wasn't sure would be entirely recognizable to him as a _hanyou_. It wasn't really the emotion itself that surprised him, Inuyasha reasoned with himself as he pressed his body against Kagome's, relishing the speckling of goosebumps that rose along her forearms. He was more impressed by the power of the emotion – which he had held for Kagome a very, very long time.

Devotion.

As he grasped her hips firmly in his hands, sliding her up along the wall and settling her against him, Inuyasha struggled to find the correct words for what this woman meant to him. As he unbuckled her slacks, allowing them to slide down her legs of their own accord, he moved his mouth from hers, pressing lips against the warm base of her neck. She was the other side to him that he wouldn't let others see – the side that was still good and innocent and everything that an honorable person is. She was what he craved and what he _was_, deep down. She was what he needed to keep safe, at _all _times. If anything ever happened to her…

Inuyasha bit down lightly on her shoulder as this agonizing thought crossed his mind; he whimpered slightly at the idea of waking up one day without Kagome beside him. It seemed like something that would never happen, that _could_ never happen…

_If only that were the case_, he thought as he entered her, slowly and tenderly. She gasped against him, uttering his name in the most profound and beautiful whisper he had ever heard.

"Inuyasha…"

He moved against her, within her; his chest still heaved with unused breath, with unspoken words, with untold emotion. There was no way he could continue on as he was for much longer – everything that was inside of him was forcing its way out all at once, and his human self couldn't contain it any longer.

"Inuyasha…"

He was afraid, he knew, as frightened as a lost pup; he knew that he'd be completely useless if he ever had to face the day that she wasn't here against him anymore – that she wasn't here, _right_ here, breathing into his hair, sighing at every touch, moaning at every buck of hips.

_Why, Kagome?_ he questioned without ever saying a word. _Why did you have to come down the well? Why did you have to set me free?_

He looked down; when he did, he caught the slight movement beside his knees. He stared downward, in awe, as he watched her toes curl, and he felt her orgasm overtake her in the next moment. "_Inuyasha!_" she cried out, no longer whispering, but still as profound and stirring. Her body tensed against his own, and they both released simultaneously, their climaxes hand in hand.

After another moment, Kagome's breathing hitched, and she whispered into his chest, "You called me."

His eyes widened, and Inuyasha pulled back so he could look her in the eye. She released her head back, smiling up at him. Leaning down, he kissed her once more.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Conquistador


End file.
